The Brussels motor show at the beginning of the year turned out to be an important event for the automotive industry, taking the place of the Geneva show at the top of the calendar. 

This week sees the Beijing motor show taking place in the capital city of the country that’s quietly having more impact on our lives than any other – and Electrifying is there on the ground with the latest news. 

While western carmakers are moaning about the rigours of having to comply with emissions rules and sell increasing proportions of electric cars, there are queues of fresh-faced Chinese brands getting on with actually selling them. 

Tell me about the Beijing motor show…

The Beijing motor show started back in 1990 and goes by a number of names, including the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition and Auto China, but for our purposes it’s the Beijing motor show. 

It happens every two years, with the in-between years covered by the Shanghai motor show (which claims seniority having started in 1985).

The fun thing about the Beijing motor show is that you’re as likely to see a knock-off Rolls-Royce-style limo as you are a new personal autonomous helicopter, with a new German sub-brand sandwiched somewhere in between. 

What trends should we be looking out for? 

European and American brands are rowing back on some of their grand electric pronouncements, shoehorning some petrol engines back into cars that represented all their emission free dreams at launch. Is China still all in on electric? It’ll be interesting to take the temperature of the Chinese market. 

The other thing to keep an eye on is what the next new thing to come to the UK will be – any new brands to watch out for, what new cars might be getting on the next boat over? While Chinese brands are engineering Chinese cars for the European market, European brands are designing cars for the Chinese market – who’s going to win there?

What exciting cars are being revealed in Beijing?

AUDI’s E7X is a sleek looking electric SUV that’s going to be China only – note the capital letters, which denote Audi’s new Chinese sub-brand, AUDI. Someone got paid a lot of money for that. The SUV has a big old 109kWh battery and 467 miles (751km) of range under the Chinese test standard. 

BMW has two cars appearing at the show – its i7 facelift will be revealed on the company stand, along with a long wheelbase version of the iX3 SUV for the Asian market. The i7 is a few years old now, but its electric powertrain has been upgraded with the latest tech from Croatian firm Rimac.

BYD’s big Beijing reveal will be its new flagship saloon called the Seal 08 which will feature the carmaker’s new Blade 2 battery tech. If it comes to the UK (we don’t know whether it will yet) it could be new range king, with rumours of 620-mile (1,000km) range under the CLTC regime, which would be less on WLTP but could still beat the new BMW i3. Confusingly, there’s also going to be a large SUV called the Sealion 08 unveiled in Beijing, both variations on a theme. Think Mercedes S-Class versus EQS, but cheaper. 

​Leapmotor has a smorgasbord of cars launching on its Beijing stand – the B05 hatchback is an Astra-sized car that’s coming to the UK later this year, we’re going to get a glimpse of the interior of the new B03X small SUV that’s coming to the UK even later this year (picture above), and then a tantalising look at the D19 large SUV that’s not coming to the UK at all, but will be all big and luxurious. 

The new MG 07 is set to be pitched as a sort of budget Porsche Taycan, and is itself a cheaper version of MG’s IM5 model. Will it be sold in the UK? Who knows. Probably not, because IM is a separate brand in China, whereas MG has decided to lump the IM cars in with all of its other offerings. 

​Nio will take the wraps off its new ES9 SUV. Yet another ginormous flagship range topper, the ES9 has lots of high-tech features and aims to mix it with some of the luxury brands. 

Any fun concept cars to see?

Well, we’re looking forward to seeing what the new Freelander concept looks like in real life, it’s going to make its public debut in Beijing. 

​Hyundai is all set to launch its new Ioniq sub-brand (China only, naturally) with two interesting looking concepts called Venus and Earth. One is a large SUV, the other looks like one of those mini vacuum cleaners you can get for your car. 

The other concept car we’re looking forward to feasting our eyes on is the new Smart #2 concept, which gives us a preview of the company’s new Fortwo replacement. 

​Volkswagen is going to show off a brace of concept cars – the ID.Aura T6 is a mid-sized electric SUV, ID.Unyx 09 is an electric saloon and the Jetta X is a preview of an upcoming car from VW’s new Chinese sub-brand. All these cars are for the Chinese market and designed in conjunction with local joint venture partners in the region, so no fear of seeing them in the UK just yet.