Chinese cars heading to Beijing motor show 2016

More than 20 million cars were bought in China last year, making it the largest automotive market in the world. With so much money to be made, it’s unsurprising that many carmakers build vehicles specifically for the East Asian market. We run through 10 key China-focused cars that will be on display at the Beijing motor show (April 25 - May 4, 2016).
 

LeEco LeSEE

LeEco, the tech firm that shares one of its founders with Chinese EV maker Faraday Future, and will work collaboratively with Aston Martin on the upcoming RapidE electric vehicle, is bringing its own Tesla Model S rival to the Beijing motor show; the LeSEE – short for Super Electric Ecosystem. The company revealed the car recently, and will unwrap more details at its official world Premier at the motor show next week. 

SenovaOffSpace

Senova, a subsidiary of the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC), will debut itsOffSpace SUV concept at the Beijing motor show. Given that the car has been previewed only in murky preview shots, both its technical and visual details remain little known so far.

IAT SUV

IAT, the Chinese automotive firm established in 2002, will bring its SUV to Beijing this year. Information regarding it remains tightly under wraps, to the effect that even its name isn’t out yet. It is however rumoured to be six metres long. The car sports an angular, almost Origami-like design, reminiscent of the Lexus LF-NX concept.

Geely Emgrand GS

Geely has picked up momentum in the past few years, with its GC9, launched at last year’s Shanghai show, being named China's Car of the Year 2016. The GS (or Boyue as it is known locally) follows the new design language, but this time in the form of an SUV.

The GS was officially launched in the Chinese market in March, but this is its first appearance at a motor show. Engine choices are a 143hp 2.0-litre petrol unit and a 1.8-litre turbo making either 163hp or 184hp. The latter gets a four-wheel drive, but the other versions are front-wheel drive only. Set to be a export model, the GS might make it way to Europe.

Beijing Auto BJ90

Although there's no image for the BJ90, we know for a fact that this car is essentially the Mercedes GL-Class. Beijing Auto is Daimler Benz’s joint venture partner in China and, under the terms of the agreement, it can use the platform and engines of the SUV.

The interior is also heavily dependent on the German original, although the Chinese version has a larger touchscreen and new wood trim. Powertrains are lifted directly from the Mercedes, with a choice of a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and Mercedes’ 4Matic system.

Zotye SR8

Another German SUV lookalike, but this time, it’s an all-out clone with no blessing from Porsche. Over the recent years, Zotye has developed a reputation for producing rip-offs, particularly with its SUV range. This year too, it doesn’t disappoint with the near-identical Macan rip-off. Even the interior, bar the steering wheel badge, is difficult to distinguish from the real thing.

Power comes from the Mitsubishi 2.0-litre turbo engine used in the infamous Evoque copy, the Landwind X7. With such blatant IP infringement, Zotye can forget any chance of exports.

BYD Qin EV300

This is the second all-electric car from Warren Buffett’s attack on the electric car industry. While no Tesla, BYD’s first electric car, the e6, has found use as a taxi in many cities around the world, including London. The Qin was originally a plug-in hybrid and repackages the e6’s electric technology into a more practical car for the masses. It has a claimed range of 306km. This car stands a real chance of fulfilling BYD’s long-promised break into Western markets.
 

Borgward BX7

Remember that well-known German brand Borgward? For some reason, BAIC thought that resurrecting the name made perfect sense to give its cars an air of exclusivity. However, other than name, this car has no connection with Germany.

In fact, it’s based on the Senova X65 – a brand that was kick-started using technology bought in from Saab. The BX7 was also designed by former Saab designer Einar Hareide and the 2.0T engine is likely to be based on the old Saab unit. It’s possible that BAIC has ideas of exporting this brand.

Qoros 3 estate crossover

Nothing has been heard about the Qoros 3 estate since it was unveiled at Geneva motor show in 2014, and it’s no secret that things haven’t been going according to plan for Qoros. Despite producing well-engineered, essentially German cars in China, without a well-known brand, they’ve struggled to sell. European sales, apart from the Slovakian test market, have failed to materialise.

The estate as well as the sedan have received the crossover treatment in an attempt to create a larger range, but it’s still largely built around a one-car series and uses a 1.6-litre engine in naturally aspirated or turbo forms. It’s unlikely that this car brings Qoros any closer to full-blown European sales.

Beijing Auto electric supercar

Coming hot on the heels of the Chinese Techrules AT96 supercar unveiled at Geneva, this is another electric supercar. Details are thin on the ground, but the as-yet-unnamed car was developed by BAIC’s R&D centre in Barcelona and is based on a Formula E racing car. Range is claimed to be 300km and top speed 261kph, with a 0-100kph time of 3.0sec. However, there is a question mark over whether this car will ever reach production.

Roewe RX5

Roewe started off the back of intellectual property bought from the Rover collapse. Later, parent company SAIC regained the MG brand and many of the cars offered by the two companies are closely related and designed in the UK.

Details of the RX5 are scarce, besides a couple of teaser shots, but we know it’s an SUV with a choice of 1.4-litre turbo and 1.6-litre petrol engines. This could mean that it’s the Roewe version of the MG GS, which is due to go on sale in the UK this summer. The 1.4-litre unit is likely to be the GM engine used in the MG GT. So far, it hasn’t been offered in the UK, while the 1.6 seems to be a new engine for the group.

Venucia T90

At the 2011 Shanghai show, one of the big stories was the creation of China-only brands by joint ventures, which are treated favourably by the government. Venucia, created by Dongfeng Nissan, has been one of the most successful ones.

While it started off using old Nissan designs, the latest T90 is based on the current Murano. Spy shots show a good-looking X6-like SUV coupé. Power is likely to come from a 2.5-litre petrol or 2.5-litre hybrid. Sales in other markets are unlikely.

Chery Tiggo 7

Along with Great Wall, Geely and BYD, Chery was once one of the best-selling Chinese brands. Sales, however, have fallen and the company largely survives on handouts from the local government.

Spy shots reveal an attractive SUV, with engine choices likely to be 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre petrol units. Chery will need to seriously improve its quality, particularly when it comes to interiors, if it plans to rejoin the big league.
 

Mark Andrews (Autocar UK)