Shanghai Auto Show - Photo Report

After a period in China, where i had the luck of going to the Shanghai Auto Show, i am back in the saddle of EV Sales, and ready to share some of the most interesting plug-ins  of the Show.

At least those that i managed to cover, as the Shanghai Auto Show is YUUUGGGEEE, imagine 5 times the size of the Geneva Auto Show and you have an idea of the size of it.

BYD Song: Now with PHEV and BEV versions, with the first doing 0-100 kms/h in 4.9 secs and the second having 300 kms range, specs of this VW Tiguan-sized crossover are up with the best. Now about those vanilla looks... 

BYD Yuan - The smallest of BYD Crossovers has a rather funky look, sometimes reminding the Renault Captur, other times the Ford Ecosport, 100% BYD are the specs shared with its larger Song sibling. Yep, this small Crossover is said to make 0-100 kms/h in 4.9 seconds on the PHEV version. Wicked!

BYD Tang 100 - Now with fancier badges and longer range ("100" refers to the electric range), the Tang is something General Motors could have done if they had decided to put the Voltec drivetrain in one of their Crossovers/SUV's. But because they haven't, this is currently the only SUV with decent electric range on the market. The 500 hp coming from the drivetrain are just a bonus...

BYD Song 7 - First model penned by the former Audi Designer Wolfgang Egger, the Song 7 is a rather fancy approach to the 7-seater MPV theme, launched with gas-only versions, it is said that next year it will offer a PHEV version, probably doing 0-100 kms/h in five seconds. Be careful when taking kids/inlaws with you...   

Changan Benni EV: Toyota Yaris-sized EV, with 210 kms range. Quality design, but needs more electric range to stand out.

VW Phideon GTE - A good idea and better looks, but the 14kWh battery only allows 50 kms electric range.

Zotye E200 - One of the stars in the Chinese EV ranking, it doesn't look bad on the quality department, as for looks...

...The Zotye E30 looks better. If it only had the E200 sturdiness...

Zotye Z500 EV - Turns out, Zotye also wants to make decent electric sedans!

Cadillac CT6 PHEV - Big barge with big battery (18 kWh), allowing 60 kms electric range for 80.000 USD. Worst things have came out of Cadillac.

Link & Co - The most popular stand at the Shanghai Auto Show, irreverence was the token word here, a sort of Smart meets Mini. In the future, this could be the right counter weight to the serious, premium Volvo in the Geely Group. Said to have a plug-in hybrid in 2018, this could be the first Chinese brand to really breakout in Western markets. As for the divisive looks, there was a time when the Nissan Juke looked more like a Lunar Lander than a Crossover, now it is everywhere...

NIO ES8 - The former NextEV startup transformed itself in the Nio brand and presented the ES8, a 100% electric full-size SUV, a rather handsome beast scheduled to be in production mode next year. Great stand by the way, reminding a bit of Ikea philosophy. Wish all the best to them! 

BAIC EX400: Beijing Auto is serious in beating BYD and this is possibly their most competitive product to date, with 400 kms range, the BAIC Crossover has a critical selling point over the all-electric BYD Song and Yuan. The ball is now on your side, BYD... 

For those that always felt that the world missed a plug-in hybrid version of the Mercedes G Wagen, here is the closest you can get to that, the BJ80 PHEV, a Chinese clone to the Mercedes G-Class with a PHEV drivetrain. 

Denza EV - 400 kms electric range, Mercedes B-Class platform, plenty of space, one would think BYD would have a winner here, but it hasn't. Looking at it live, one understands why, after all design counts. A lot. 

Chery e5/e7 - After years banking on small city cars to provide EV's, Chery decided to go for the "Big Boys", by launching the e5, a compact sedan (In the front) and the e7 larger sedan (In the back).

And of course a lineup of EV's in China wouldn't be complete without a Crossover. Here's the Chery model.

JAC iEV6S - A rather striking look that is let down by poor quality interiors. Time to step up, JAC.

SAIC Roewe eRX5 - Roewe is possibly the most solid and best designed Chinese brand, this VW Tiguan-sized crossover has a lot going for it.

SAIC Roewe i6 - The same can be said about the i6, a large PHEV sedan that could eventually arrive in Europe under a MG badge in a couple of years.