This post has been updated with more photos.
For this last update we select the three most impressive brands at the Beijing Auto Show 2026. This time a foreign brand makes it to the cut!
Maextro
The brand was already in our most impressive section last year but it has taken it to the next level in 2026. Reduced to a tiny section with only one closed car on display in 2025, this time Maextro has a full blown stand on its own with five vehicles exhibited as well as a section of the HIMA stand with 3 models. I was able to enter the car to explore the interior.
And what an interior! Obviously the dashboard is a giant side-to-side digital tile with three screens. The space at the back (most owners will be driven around) is gigantic with a full on rug at your feet.
Still at the back, instead of a ceiling-mounted screen there is electric motion screen that, when pulled down, covers the entire width of the car. The projector for the screen is located in between the back seats (see picture above).
In between the back seats we also have a large refrigerator…
… as well as large, removable iPhone-like controls for seat functions located on the door.
The S800 is priced from 708,000 to 1,018,000 yuan (85,500-127,300€ or US$103,700-149,100) which is a bargain given the specs of the car. Launched in August, the S800 crossed the 10,000 sales mark by December and is now at 16,809 total units at end of March. It peaked at 4,223 sales in December. This makes it the best-selling luxury sedan in China.
BYD Great Tang
BYD
China’s market leader (in 2025 at least) is back with a vengeance with a flurry of new models at the Show. The main event was the launch of pre sales for the Great Tang, available in BEV and PHEV variants. The Great Tang is a full size seven-seater SUV full-size crossover and at 5.3m long it is the brand’s largest crossover. It offers up to 950 km of EV range while the 4WD version speeds from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. The Great Tang has reportedly recorded no less than 60,000 pre orders within 48h of its launch. Note the Great Tang’s passenger screen appears black to the driver even when on, to avoid distractions.
BYD Seal 08
Also new at the Show were the Seal 08 sedan…
BYD Sealion 08
Sealion 08 SUV (as a near production ready concept)…
BYD Yuan Plus / Atto 3
…and the third generation Atto 3 (Yuan Plus in China) available with the brand’s flash charging technology allowing charging the battery from 10% to 97% in just nine minutes.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen was by far the most impressive foreign carmaker at the Show and seems to have finally woken up after losing its market pole position to BYD and then the second place to Geely, plus being outsold by Toyota in March. The German manufacturer had more than a few new EV models at the Show.
The ID. Aura T6 stands for Advanced, User-centric, Reliable, and All-access. The letter T means Travel, and the digit 6 refers to the “golden balance point.” It’s a 6-seater family oriented urban crossover, and looks like a sedan from the front. It has Xpeng tech on board.
The ID. Era 9X was also unveiled, coming from the SAIC-VW joint venture. It is an EREV (extended range EV) with six seats and will act as the flagship NEV model for the brand. It has the mandatory digital tile extending to the passenger side.
The ID. Unyx 07 was co-developed with Xpeng. It’s a mid-size electric fastback sedan offering a 231 hp electric motor and a 59.9 kWh battery, for a range of 558 km.
The ID. Unyx 08 is Volkswagen’s first mass produced vehicle developed in collaboration with Xpeng. It breaks with the brand’s previous design codes with a distinctive fascia. At 5m long, this is a large SUV but only comes as a five-seater.
That’s all for this year’s coverage of the Beijing Auto Show! I’ll see you again next year in Shanghai.
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