The Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (Auto Shanghai), commonly known as the Shanghai Auto Show, is an international automotive exhibition organised by the Shanghai Sub-Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Shanghai International Exhibition (Group) Co., Ltd., and other affiliated bodies. Inaugurated in 1985 and held biennially on odd-numbered years in Shanghai, it is China's longest-running dedicated international motor show. In June 2004, Auto Shanghai received certification from the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), becoming the first automotive exhibition in China to achieve this accreditation. Over four decades of development, Auto Shanghai, alongside the Beijing Auto Show, has formed the "twin pillars" of China's automotive industry, ranking among the world's most influential Class-A motor shows.
On 3 July 1985, the inaugural Auto Shanghai opened at the Shanghai Industrial Exhibition Hall (now the Shanghai Exhibition Centre), spanning an exhibition floor of just 10,000 square metres and hosting 328 manufacturers from 22 countries and regions. The locally assembled Santana saloon on display—though a joint-venture model—stole the limelight, heralding the dawn of the joint-venture era in China's automotive sector.
Over the following two decades, Auto Shanghai transformed from a regional expo into a premier national and international automotive showcase. Following its UFI accreditation in 2004, the 11th edition held the subsequent year saw global marques like Volkswagen, BMW, and Cadillac participating to full international Class-A motor show standards. In 2009, China's top six domestic automotive conglomerates gathered under one roof at Auto Shanghai for the first time, marking the beginning of homegrown marques competing head-to-head with international brands.
From 23 April to 2 May 2025, the 21st Auto Shanghai, themed "Embracing Innovation, Winning the Future Together", took place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Marking the 40th anniversary of its inception, this edition spanned a total exhibition area exceeding 360,000 square metres, drawing nearly 1,000 exhibitors from 26 countries and regions and featuring 1,366 display vehicles. New energy vehicles (NEVs) made up over 70% of the fleet, alongside 163 global debuts.
The event logged 1.01 million visitor turnouts, with 63,000 international visitors representing 97 countries and regions, including more than 12,000 overseas dealers. Over 14,000 local and international journalists covered the event, with 193 press conferences staged across the media days. For the first time, the show's run was extended through the Labour Day holidays, accompanied by "Auto Show Exclusive Vouchers" integrated with local tourism, retail, and lifestyle sectors to spur city-wide spending.
Exhibition Highlights: The event showcased over a thousand vehicles, setting the stage for domestic and multinational marques to square off. BYD unveiled its megawatt ultra-fast charging technology (peaking at 1,000 kW, providing 259 miles of range in just 5 minutes); Toyota gave global debuts to the bZ7, its first D-segment saloon featuring the HarmonyOS cockpit, alongside the next-generation Lexus ES; Mercedes-Benz presented an extensive line-up of 28 models. The automotive technology and supply chain segment saw substantial growth, with 58 of the world's top 100 component suppliers participating, up by 12 from the previous edition; meanwhile, the China Automotive Chip Industry Innovation Strategic Alliance showcased more than 1,200 locally engineered automotive microchips. EV marques including Xiaomi EV, Onvo, and Fangchengbao also made their inaugural appearances at Auto Shanghai.
Auto Shanghai's trajectory mirrors the progression of China's automotive industry from "joint-venture reliance" to the "rise of homegrown marques". Since its 1985 debut, the show's footprint has scaled up from 10,000 square metres to 360,000 square metres, with the exhibitor count climbing from 328 to nearly 1,000. Industry observers note that amid the waning prominence of legacy motor shows such as Frankfurt and Detroit, Shanghai has cemented itself as one of the world's most dynamic and consequential automotive events, with foreign executives and engineers frequenting Chinese booths to scrutinise cutting-edge EV and smart mobility technologies.
Today, Auto Shanghai serves not merely as a showcase, but as a strategic vantage point for the global automotive supply chain to track China's technology roadmap, forge local partnerships, and gauge market trajectories—underscoring China's decisive pivot from an industry "follower" to a global "frontrunner".
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