BEIJING: Thousands snapped selfies beside sleek Chinese electric vehicles on Friday at the world&#39;s biggest car show in Beijing, where automakers are seeking to lure buyers in a cut-throat market. Rows of influencers posed in front of gleaming models at the cavernous international exhibition center in the capital, darting to suitcases stuffed with outfit changes, while animated CEOs worked the crowds in front of massive LED screens. Legacy overseas brands such as Volkswagen, Toyota and BMW once dominated in China, but have lost market share in past years to domestic firms that beat them to the electric vehicle revolution and undercut them on price. Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Xiaomi and Xpeng are now also at the forefront of integrating AI software and autonomous driving technology into their EVs. The Auto China exhibition, hosted at two side-by-side venues, spans 380,000 square meters, according to organizers &ndash; more than 50 football pitches. More than 1,400 vehicles from hundreds of Chinese and foreign companies are on display from Friday, when the show opened to industry professionals and the media, and later to the public from April 28 until May 3. At the sprawling expo, crowds cheered as XPeng chief executive He Xiaopeng took the stage beside the Chinese company&#39;s latest model, the GX, a six-seat electric SUV. The imposing 5.2-metre vehicle incorporates AI technology and is aiming at breaking into the luxury market, he said. It would soon be followed by humanoid robots this year, He promised, and eventually by flying cars, which XPeng hopes to mass-produce. Foreign automakers are increasingly collaborating with Chinese firms to keep pace with technological advances. BMW has partnered with Chinese battery maker CATL, while Audi is using Huawei&#39;s driving assistance systems and Volkswagen is developing EVs together with Guangzhou-based Xpeng. XPeng President Brian Gu told reporters that companies were &quot;leveraging their respective strength to collaborate with China&quot;, a trend he said would continue both domestically and overseas. Gu has his eyes set on export markets including Europe and the Gulf. Asked by AFP how Trump&#39;s tariffs were affecting Xpeng, he said only that the US market remained an important one. Fierce competition This year, companies are also jostling to sell space, analysts say, with roomy SUVs&#39; new growth area targeting customers prioritizing seating and comfort. China &quot;has become a customer retention and replacement/upgrade-driven market, and these big SUVs address that need,&quot; independent analyst Lei Xing wrote in a blog this week. Firms have flooded the domestic market in recent years with trade-in schemes, offering huge discounts to customers to give up their old car for a new one. The fierce price war led Chinese officials last year to call for tighter price monitoring and improving long-term regulation of competition. But newcomers appear unfazed, Lei wrote, naming at least eight EV brands from Chinese automakers that have cropped up over the last two years. Electric vehicles, an area China dominates, are also gaining traction as rising global oil prices linked to the Middle East war push drivers away from fossil fuel-powered models. Manufacturers are now competing on driving range. Xiaomi chief executive Lei Jun recently completed a 1,300-kilometre trip from Beijing to Shanghai in the SU7 Pro electric sedan, stopping only once to recharge during the 15-hour drive.

BYD-owned premium brand Denza Z model car is displayed at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 24, 2026. (AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

At Beijing’s massive auto show, Chinese EV makers showcase advanced AI vehicles, intensifying competition with global brands, while price wars, innovation, and export ambitions reshape the world’s largest car market.

Chinese EV makers take center stage at world's biggest auto show

BEIJING:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/canada-to-import-49000-chinese-evs-at-preferential-tariff-rates-pm-carney" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chinese electric vehicle</a>&nbsp;(EV) giant BYD said on Friday its annual net profit in 2025 fell 19% from a year earlier as it battled weak spending and fierce competition at home while looking to expand overseas.&nbsp;BYD&#39;s net profit attributable to shareholders last year was 32.6 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), down from 40.3 billion yuan in 2024, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.&nbsp;BYD &mdash; which uses the English slogan &quot;Build Your Dreams&quot; &mdash;&nbsp;has emerged in recent years as the clear leader in China&#39;s highly competitive EV market, the world&rsquo;s largest.&nbsp;China&#39;s EV industry is world-leading but a cutthroat domestic market has weighed on profitability, with BYD and other carmakers turning to overseas markets in response.&nbsp;Scrutiny of the EV market is also growing, with a top industry group rebuking Chinese automakers last May for fueling a price war, a week after BYD announced sweeping trade-in discounts.&nbsp;&quot;Competition in the NEV industry has reached a fever pitch, and is undergoing a brutal &#39;knockout stage&#39;,&quot; BYD&#39;s chairman Wang Chuanfu said in a statement, using an acronym for new energy vehicles.&nbsp;BYD recorded 804 billion yuan in revenue last year, up a modest 3.5% compared to 2024.&nbsp;Its annual revenue surpassed that of its American rival&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/tesla-teases-tuesday-event-as-focus-shifts-to-affordable-evs" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tesla</a>&nbsp;in 2024 and crossed the symbolic $100 billion mark, at 777 billion yuan.&nbsp;However, profit in the third quarter of 2025 slumped by 33% year-on-year, its second consecutive quarterly decline.&nbsp;The recent slowdown comes after a period of sustained, intense growth, and BYD&#39;s profit in the first quarter of 2025 was a record for the company in that reporting period.&nbsp;BYD&#39;s overseas ambitions appear to be gathering pace, with its vehicles now operating in &quot;119 countries and regions worldwide&quot;, according to Friday&#39;s filing.&nbsp;It sold more than 13,000 units in European Union countries in September, a year-on-year increase of 272.1 percent, according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers&#39; Association.

Business

The Chinese EV-maker reported a 19% drop in 2025 net profit due to weak demand and intense competition, despite rising revenue and expanding global sales as it targets overseas markets for growth.

Articles tagged with "Chinese EVs"

Chinese EV makers take center stage at world's biggest auto show

Chinese EV giant BYD says annual net profit down 19%

Chinese EV makers take center stage at world's biggest auto show