On April 24th, the media day of the Beijing Auto Show kicked off as scheduled. The most striking aspect of this long-awaited industry event was not only the abundance of new cars, dazzling technology, and a dazzling array of concept cars, but also the presence of foreign faces throughout the venue. Overseas media reporters, brand executives, dealers, and engineers crowded the various independent exhibition booths, making people mistakenly believe they were at the top international auto show. Two or three years ago, at domestic A-level car exhibitions like Beijing, overseas visitors were mainly sporadic spectators and cooperative merchants; This year, every top independent brand such as BYD, Chery, Geely, Great Wall Motors, and Guangzhou Automobile Group has invited global partners and overseas media to the event, making the auto show a complete stage for Chinese cars to export technology, products, and standards to the world. Not only the crowds on site, but also the overseas industry insiders' evaluation of Chinese cars has undergone a disruptive reversal. After experiencing multiple new Chinese cars, a senior German automotive media reporter bluntly stated that Chinese brands have surpassed local German car companies in terms of electrification, intelligence, and overall vehicle quality.

There are also automotive industry professionals from Canada who, upon learning that Chinese cars have the opportunity to enter the Canadian market, took advantage of this opportunity to lead a team to investigate and seek opportunities. In the global market beyond the stage, the offensive of Chinese automobiles is equally unstoppable. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the cumulative export of Chinese automobiles in the first quarter of 2026 was 2.226 million units, a year-on-year increase of 56.7%; Among them, the export of new energy vehicles reached 954000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.2 times, with a doubling growth rate that broke historical records. In core markets such as Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, the sales volume, market share, and growth rate of Chinese brands have all reached historic highs. From the crowds gathered at the auto show to the sweeping global market, an indisputable fact has arrived: the global automotive industry has officially entered China, and China's power has completely transformed from a follower to a leader.

01 From observation to submission, the grand scene shocked foreigners

This year's Beijing Auto Show has reached a new high in scale, with the total exhibition area more than doubling compared to the previous edition. Despite such a huge exhibition space, it still cannot stop the enthusiasm of overseas visitors. Walking into major independent exhibition booths, foreigners with yellow hair, white skin, and black skin can be seen looking up. They either stop and stare at technical analysis, bend down to measure vehicle dimensions, or hold equipment to shoot details. Their eyes are full of curiosity and shock, completely subverting the stereotype of overseas people viewing Chinese cars. The grandeur of Geely's booth best illustrates the popularity of this "global spectacle". On the eve of the auto show, Geely held an international business partner conference in Hangzhou, inviting more than 1000 overseas dealers and partners from over 100 countries and regions to attend at once.

In order to ensure the smooth arrival of these global distinguished guests at the Beijing Auto Show, Geely directly contracted a high-speed rail special train escort, which is also the largest overseas partner gathering in Geely's history. At the exhibition booth, multilingual staff including German, Spanish, English, Arabic, etc. are on standby at any time. At the booth of the Great Wall, people of different colors can be seen everywhere. The simultaneous interpreting channel of the press conference is no longer simple in 1 Chinese or 2 English, but has set up 8 channels in different languages. The simultaneous interpretation equipment covers the whole process and is meticulous. Chery is also said to have brought a foreign delegation of 4000 people to the exhibition this time, and will take them to Wuhu later. This precisely confirms that Chinese brands are ready to fully enter the global market and meet the scrutiny of the world with an international attitude. Including Mercedes Benz's Chairman of the Board of Directors Kang Linsong, BMW's CEO Zipper, and Volkswagen Germany's executive team, they successively appeared at the booths of top Chinese car companies such as Geely, BYD, Great Wall Motors, and Chery to observe their new products and technologies. It is a fact that the number of overseas visitors has increased in several large-scale car exhibitions after the epidemic. In the past, they were more skeptical and probing, observing whether the rise of Chinese cars was just a flash in the pan. So by 2026, mainstream global car companies have completely accepted a reality that China's technological advantages, supply chain advantages, and intelligent advantages have become an irreversible trend in the industry. To keep up with the pace of the times, they must embrace the Chinese solution. Therefore, at various independent exhibition booths, the actions of overseas engineers and technicians are more representative. They carefully measured the wheelbase and interior space with tape measures, took out laptops to record motor parameters, battery specifications, and architectural highlights, and kept taking pictures of the design language of concept cars and the intelligent cockpit of mass-produced cars. They even pulled Chinese engineers to deeply exchange technical details.

This focus and seriousness send a clear signal that today's overseas practitioners no longer view Chinese cars with the mentality of watching or observing from three years ago, but with a learning, research, and benchmarking mindset, attempting to find their own brand's breakthrough direction from the technological path and product logic of Chinese cars. Previously, after the German Chancellor's visit to China, he stated at a domestic industry conference that the Chinese automotive industry's inward rolling innovation has led the world, and German car companies must not continue to lie flat. This warning not only shows that the former giants in the automotive industry can no longer sit still, but also demonstrates the global automotive industry's reverence for China's power. The lively scene of the Beijing Auto Show is essentially a microcosm of the transfer of power in the global automotive industry. Foreigners crowded the exhibition booth not only to see a few new cars, but also to understand the next generation of industry rules defined by Chinese automobiles. From passive display to active leadership, from looking up overseas to being looked up to globally, Chinese cars have completed an unprecedented identity transformation in just a few years by changing lanes and overtaking.

02 French cars have awakened, global car companies collectively embrace Chinese technology

This year's Beijing Auto Show also has a landmark change, with French brands Peugeot and Citroen, who have been absent from the A-level auto show for three years, officially returning to the center of the stage. The former French cars were synonymous with stubbornness and slow pace, adhering to their unique design logic and product rhythm, disdainful of catering to market changes, and ultimately losing ground in the Chinese market, paying a painful price. On this day in 2026, French cars also have to embark on the road of awakening. The awakening of the legal system is not the sole action of Peugeot and Citroen, Renault's layout is more forward-looking. Although Renault did not attend the Beijing Auto Show, in early April, Renault fully established Renault (Hangzhou) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. in Hangzhou, targeting China's top supply chain and intelligent technology.

The logic behind choosing Hangzhou is very clear. This is Geely's headquarters, and both sides have already established a deeply bound cooperative ecosystem. Haosi Power, jointly created by Geely and Renault, is one of the top three powertrain companies in the world. It has 17 production bases and 5 research and development centers worldwide, with an annual production capacity of over 8 million sets. Its business covers more than 130 countries and provides hybrid and fuel power solutions for dozens of brands such as Renault, Mercedes Benz, and Geely. In the Korean market, Renault directly adopted the technology platform of Geely Xingyue L, changed its logo and launched it on the market, quickly becoming a popular SUV in the local market, with sales surpassing local competitors; In the Brazilian market, Geely and Renault have established a joint venture and invested 5.1 billion yuan to establish new energy production capacity. Leveraging Renault's local industrial chain, they will introduce Chinese technology and supply chain into South America and quickly seize market share. Renault did not choose to return to the Chinese market for internal competition, but instead focused on Chinese technology and fed back to the global market. This clarity undoubtedly led Renault to lead the industry in its transformation. The actions of the Stellantis Group are more decisive. In addition to bringing Peugeot and Citroen back to the Beijing Auto Show, it has also reached a deep cooperation with Leapmotor, leveraging Leapmotor's intelligent and electric technology to quickly open up the European market.

In the first quarter of 2026, relying on the channels of Strantis, Zero Run's overseas export volume exceeded 40000 units, with 23300 units registered in 16 European countries, a year-on-year increase of 726.5%. In the Italian market, it even topped the sales chart of pure electric brands with a 33.5% share, becoming a benchmark case for cooperation between Chinese car companies and European groups. The French cars that were once ridiculed as "axle, slow, and inflexible" have fully awakened and embraced the power of China, which is enough to prove the consensus of global car companies' transformation. Industry giants such as Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Toyota, etc. have already embarked on the same path. BMW deeply binds the core technology of its new generation models to the Chinese market, Mercedes Benz's pure electric GLC fully adapts to the intelligent needs of Chinese users, and Toyota's Platinum series relies on the Chinese supply chain to achieve explosive sales. In the product matrix of these global giants, the traces of Chinese technology and solutions are becoming increasingly evident. The collective shift of global car companies confirms a cruel and realistic industry law. In the revolutionary wave of electrification and intelligence, rejecting Chinese technology is equivalent to rejecting the future.

03 China dominates the world, ushering in the fifth revolution in the automotive industry

The gathering of foreigners at the Beijing Auto Show is a direct demonstration of China's strength; The soaring export data and global market share in the first quarter are the hard core proof that Chinese cars dominate the world. Against the backdrop of intensified competition in the domestic market and the peak of internal competition, Chinese car companies have deployed their mature production capacity, technology, and products globally, ushering in the most magnificent wave of overseas expansion in history. The outbreak of China's automobile exports in the first quarter of 2026 can be considered a phenomenon. One out of every three Chinese cars is sold overseas, and the export volume continues to suppress Japan, firmly securing its position as the world's largest automobile exporting country.

The overseas layout of top independent car companies is even more ambitious, with BYD raising its overseas sales target to 1.5 million vehicles by 2026; Chery has been ranked first in Chinese brand exports for 23 consecutive years, with a target of 1.5-1.6 million units for overseas sales in 2026; Changan has released the "Hai Na Bai Chuan 2.0" strategy, with an overseas target of 750000 vehicles by 2026 and a target of 1.5 million vehicles by 2030; Geely has determined to challenge overseas sales of 750000 units this year and anchor global sales of 6.5 million units by 2030, with overseas sales accounting for over one-third. In major core markets around the world, the rise of Chinese brands has become a wildfire. In the European market, despite facing tariff barriers, the market share of Chinese brand pure electric vehicles in the core 15 European countries has reached 14.97%. If Chinese controlled brands are included, the share rises to 21.68%; BYD sold 25074 pure electric vehicles in Europe in the first quarter, with a market share of 5.4%, ranking among the top five electric vehicle sales in Europe for the first time. In the Australian market, Chinese brands had a market share of 25.6% in the first quarter, surpassing Japan for two consecutive months and becoming the largest source of automobiles in the region. BYD has entered the top three monthly sales of Australian brands for the first time. In the Southeast Asian market, according to data from the Thai Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Chinese brands accounted for 47.34% of the Thai market share in January 2026, narrowly surpassing Japanese brands. Among them, Chinese brands accounted for over 80% of the pure electric market, completely breaking the ten-year monopoly of the Japanese coefficient. In the Latin American market, Chinese brands dominate over 80% of the Brazilian electric vehicle market, and the BYD Dolphin has become a local phenomenon hit.

Looking back at the 140 years of the development of the automotive industry, Germans invented cars, Americans invented assembly lines, Japanese invented lean production, Koreans leveraged cost-effectiveness to open up the global market, and each country has taken a big step forward in the global automotive industry with its own strength in the long river of history. This time, China has launched the fifth revolution in the automotive industry with its advantages in intelligent manufacturing, full stack self-developed technology, and full industry chain. China has the world's most complete three electricity supply chain, the most advanced intelligent technology, the most extreme cost control capability, and the ability to define products that best fit users. These advantages combine to form an unstoppable competitiveness for Chinese automobiles in the global market. The grandeur of the Beijing Auto Show is just a new prelude for Chinese cars to lead the world. The surge in exports in the first quarter is just a new beginning of China's power explosion. When foreigners flood the Chinese auto show, global car companies embrace Chinese technology, and Chinese brands sweep the global market, an undeniable era has arrived: the center of the global automotive industry has completely shifted from Detroit, Stuttgart, and Tokyo to China.