Some brands have been forced out of the market, such as DS and Suzuki, and others out of business, including HiPhi, Jidu and Neta.

That is probably one reason that Nio's Li made a public display of key handover to CATL boss Robin Zeng to sway potential car buyers. Even Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, went to interact with visitors, making coffee for them.

Chinese brands are eyeing global markets. XPeng reported a 370 percent increase in overseas deliveries in Q1 2025.

Nio's Li said its new Firefly subbrand is set to enter 16 overseas markets by year's end. Leapmotor, bolstered by its deal with Stellantis, is eyeing EV platform exports as a new growth engine.

Global brands, meanwhile, are adapting their vehicles steadily and also repeating their commitment of "In China, for China".

One day ahead of the auto show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its long-wheelbase CLA, built on the new MMA platform, which boasts a range of up to 866 kilometers and ByteDance's Doubao large language model.

FAW-Audi's new A5L is the first gasoline vehicle to feature Huawei's latest ADAS system.

Li Fenggang, executive vice-president of FAW-Audi Sales Co, said it approached Audi for cooperation back in 2019.

Six brands, including Toyota and Cadillac, also announced further collaborations with Chinese tech firm Momenta. Honda, for its part, is working with DeepSeek and ByteDance to embed more localized intelligence.

Over years of fast, even dizzying development, what was once a question of "old versus new" may now become "how to blend both" in China's automotive sector.

The show, like the city of Shanghai itself, reveals that success in the next chapter of mobility will demand more than just technology or legacy: it will require imagination, patience, and the ability to evolve without losing one's soul.