The 2026 25th Qingdao International Automobile Industry Expo and New Energy Vehicles to the Countryside Tour (Qingdao Stop) opens in grand style

The opening ceremony of the "2026 25th Qingdao International Automobile Industry Expo and New Energy Vehicles to the Countryside Tour (Qingdao Stop)", hosted by the Shandong Automobile Industry Association and organized by Qingdao Jiahe Huiyue Media Technology Co., Ltd. and Qingdao Jialu Bowen Culture and Tourism Technology Co., Ltd., was held at the Qingdao International Convention and Exhibition Center from April 29 to May 4. Attendees included leaders from the Qingdao Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, the Laoshan District Commerce Bureau, the Laoshan District Culture and Tourism Bureau, Qingdao Guoxin Exhibition Hotel Development Co., Ltd. and Qingdao Jialu Bowen Group. Wang Zhigang, second-level inspector of the Qingdao Municipal Commerce Bureau, gave the opening address, and Executive Secretary-General Guo Jinna hosted the ceremony.

This year’s expo carried the theme “Moving Upward, Leading the Future.” It used the five indoor halls and part of the outdoor area of the Qingdao International Convention and Exhibition Center, with 88 participating brands and a full house across nearly 60,000 square meters. From luxury marques to homegrown contenders, joint-venture classics to new EV makers, and from conventional power to new energy, family to premium, passenger to commercial, the models on show covered every mobility scenario.

At the show, BYD brought its full lineup of new models, and its large display area drew attention, with an outdoor technology zone dynamically showcasing core technologies. Engineers demonstrated flash-charging live: Megawatt Flash Charging 2.0 can add 400 km of range in 5 minutes, close to the refueling speed of a gasoline car.

The Xpeng GX uses a pure-vision system with four in-house Turing AI chips, delivering a total of 3,000 TOPS of computing power.

Several new models featuring Doubao’s large language model made their debut, including the SAIC Volkswagen ID.ERA 9X, Chery Exeed EX7, and Buick Electra E7.

Joint-venture brands are deeply integrating China’s core technologies: the all-new Audi Q5L and Audi A6L e-tron and the rest of the electric family now run Huawei Qiankun intelligent driving. The 2026 MG4 carries the world’s first mass-produced semi-solid-state battery for under RMB 100,000, bringing high-end battery technology to the mass market.

At the auto show, the newly added Motorcycle Culture Pavilion became a popular May Day check-in spot for young visitors. Well-known motorcycle brands from China and abroad—including Zhang Xue, Kawasaki, Wuyang Honda, CFMOTO, Qianjiang, Voge, and Peugeot—gathered there, attracting large numbers of motorcycle fans and enthusiasts from across and beyond the province. The pavilion was just as popular as the passenger-car exhibition area.

New energy and intelligence remained the undisputed stars of this year's auto show. 27 brand press conferences were held on-site. Centering on intelligent driving, battery technology, smart cockpits, and chassis architecture, a tangible, perceptible, and experiential feast of cutting-edge technology unfolded across the exhibition halls, showcasing the strong momentum of China's automotive industry as it transitions from "following" to "running alongside" and even "taking the lead".

The show also featured a trendy culture market, drawing on Qingdao’s peak cultural tourism season and the interests of younger visitors. Immersive experiences created new consumption scenarios, positioning the international auto show as one of Qingdao’s hottest May Day check-in destinations, adding to the holiday atmosphere and boosting cultural tourism spending.

The six-day expo coincided with the May Day holiday, and visitor interest kept climbing: total attendance rose 9.62% year on year over 2025. On-site orders reached 12,500 vehicles for a transaction value above RMB 2 billion, with over 15,000 more vehicles in intended purchases and 37,000 quality leads collected. On average, 4 cars were sold every minute at the show, reflecting not only the strong pulling power of the Qingdao auto show but also the deep potential and resilience of the car market in Qingdao and Shandong.

The successful 2026 Qingdao International Auto Show not only provided a powerful boost to the auto market's recovery in the first half of the year, but also laid a strong foundation for continued growth in the third quarter. Against a backdrop of steady economic recovery and rising consumer confidence, the show became a key catalyst for big-ticket spending.

Building on a new starting point in the transformation of the industry, the Qingdao International Auto Show will continue to leverage its professional platform to help Chinese auto brands break through and move upmarket, drive the industry toward greater intelligence and premiumization, and inject a steady stream of “Qingdao strength” into the high-quality development of the automotive industry.