by ZHOU Shuqi

This year's Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition had an unusually muted feel. Lei Jun — whose appearance last year set off one of the show's biggest surges in foot traffic — did not attend, and truly new products were scarce. With the market shifting into a slower-growth cycle, carmakers are prioritizing moves that boost sales directly instead of betting heavily on big show‑time debuts.

Organizers said 93 new vehicles premiered this year, more than last year's 78 and the previous year's 59. But most of these "debuts" were facelifts, new trims or limited-run editions. Many were actually launched at standalone events before the show opened, a strategy meant to avoid fighting for attention on a crowded news day.

China's major auto shows — once synonymous with breakthrough tech and global premieres — are evolving, and Guangzhou, positioned at year-end, is at the center of that shift. Exhibitors are leaning toward strategies that drive conversions: new color palettes, niche powertrain versions, attention-grabbing smart‑driving features and co-branded editions with popular IPs to extend model life and boost booth traffic.

Cosmetic refreshes remain the easiest way to inject novelty. Several brands rolled out limited paint colors, new wheel designs or small styling tweaks to spark purchases.

Nio introduced a Horizon edition of its flagship ET9, adding two exclusive colors and 23‑inch wheels, priced from 818,000 yuan. Its sub-brand Onvo used the same formula with the L90 "Black Knight" edition — limited to 999 units and priced at 306,800 yuan, above the standard model. These combinations of limited paint and exclusive styling allow brands to lift transaction prices on existing vehicles and raise per‑unit margins.

Nio CEO Li Bin has said the company aims to break even in the fourth quarter. Strong sales of the Onvo L90 and the new ES8 helped push monthly deliveries to 40,000 units in October. But margins remain under pressure: Nio's average selling price slipped to 224,000 yuan in Q2, prompting the need for higher-margin variants to balance its revenue mix.

Lynk & Co, meanwhile, emphasized promotions. It launched a red special edition of the Z20 but focused on a limited-time discount of 3,000–6,000 yuan across the lineup, plus enhanced purchase incentives. The Z20, on the market for about a year, has lost some momentum — October sales were 2,467 units, roughly half its peak. The brand hopes the price cuts will draw consumers back and lengthen the model’s life.

A product manager at a new-energy marque told Jiemian News that limited editions help satisfy personalized demand and add emotional value without significantly increasing supply‑chain costs, making them a practical way to support volume.

A more structural shift this year was the change in powertrain strategy. Although China's NEV penetration topped 50% for the first time in October, regional disparities are sharp. Carmakers are leaning into range‑extended hybrids alongside pure EVs to win northern buyers.

Xpeng's main attraction was the newly launched range‑extended X9, starting at 309,800 yuan — 50,000 yuan below the pure-electric version. CEO He Xiaopeng said preorders in the first hour exceeded the model's previous single‑day record, with northern buyers making up more than half of orders for the first time.

GAC Aion debuted the i60, its first range‑extended model. Geely's Galaxy brand — which has grown rapidly with lower‑priced models — introduced its first range‑extended SUV, the V900, to move upscale. Leapmotor's flagship D19 also added a range‑extended configuration. An R&D engineer at a joint‑venture automaker said developing a second powertrain on an existing platform can take less than a year, making it a fast and cost‑efficient way to boost sales.

Carmakers are also targeting range anxiety with new technologies. BYD showcased its megawatt fast‑charging system, offering 10C charging and the equivalent of 2 km of range added per second. MG brought semi‑solid‑state batteries below the 100,000‑yuan mark, introducing a semi‑solid edition of the MG4 priced at 99,800 yuan for a limited time.

With fewer major new models, competition shifted toward intelligence — a segment increasingly tied to safety perceptions and brand credibility. Li Auto and Xiaomi have moved from last year's rivalry over end‑to‑end assisted driving to competing on vision‑language models, world‑model architectures and upgraded AEB and AES systems.

Xiaomi added low‑speed front and rear collision‑avoidance functions and an emergency steering assist to its AEB suite. Li Auto went further, announcing what it says will be the industry's first defensive AES system by year-end, capable of accelerating or changing lanes proactively to avoid rear collisions.

At Xiaomi's launch, vice-president LI Xiaoshuang reiterated that assisted driving is not autonomous driving and that drivers must stay focused — reflecting a broader industry shift from headline performance toward operational safety.

Intelligence upgrades are now extending to fuel vehicles. Traditional carmakers are turning to Huawei and Momenta to accelerate their software capabilities. Dongfeng Nissan highlighted its "Teana · HarmonyOS cockpit," while GAC, Voyah and others placed "Huawei Qiankun" badges prominently on vehicles. Audi launched the A5L Intelligent Driving Edition, equipped with Huawei's system and priced at 286,800 yuan. A Qiankun engineer told Jiemian News that while fuel cars can reach high intelligence levels, tuning them is more complex due to powertrain characteristics. By late October 2025, Huawei had partnerships with 14 automakers covering 33 mass-produced models, spanning 150,000 yuan to over 1 million yuan.

With new-product launches becoming costlier and customer acquisition more challenging, more automakers turned to entertainment IP for quick bursts of attention. Volkswagen collaborated with Disney's Zootopia 2, introducing themed liveries for the ID.3, ID.4 Crozz and models under the Volkswagen Anhui brand. Nio's Firefly and Onvo, along with Great Wall Motor, partnered with Guangdong cultural tourism authorities to create Guangdong‑themed displays and special wraps.

Whether through special‑edition colors, dual‑powertrain strategies or short‑term IP collaborations, automakers are becoming more pragmatic. In an industry locked in a intensifying phase of industry consolidation, every interaction with consumers — every show, every moment of visibility — is treated as a chance to secure the next ticket forward.