The 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2025, has sparked a wave of excitement among car buyers, with crowds flocking to auto dealerships to purchase new vehicles.
The exhibition, which opened to the general public Sunday through May 2, saw a bustling scene at the booths of popular car brands and models.
"We have nearly 100 salespersons at our booth, and each of them is expected to secure dozens of orders a day," said an exhibitor.
Livestreaming has emerged as a powerful sales tool, with many exhibitors using the platform to directly sell vehicles to online viewers. Some visitors even traveled hundreds of kilometers just to see the latest models on display.
"I'm from Linyi City in Shandong Province. I particularly drove here just to see this car model," said a visitor.
For some, the excitement of the auto show led directly to purchases. A local resident surnamed Ge visited the offline showroom after attending the exhibition and quickly signed a car purchase contract.
"I'm trading in my old car, and with the subsidies from both the government and the carmaker, plus the various discounts at the auto show and shopping mall benefits like parking vouchers, it made my decision much easier," Ge explained.
Some foreign buyers even flew here to attend the show and purchase vehicles.
"I attend the Shanghai auto show for personal purchase of cars," said Fias, a customer from Oman.
The purchasing process for international buyers is streamlined as well.
"As an export company, we will handle the export process and paperwork, load the car onto an international shipping vessel, and deliver it to them," said Ji Pengfei, international business manager at a vehicle export company.
Many of the orders placed at the event are expected to translate into actual sales.
"Currently, about 50 percent of our orders are placed from the auto show," said Hua Peng, a sales manager of Chinese automaker XPENG.
Liu Qiushi, general manager of Shanghai Chuangpeng Automobile Sales and Service Company, said, "After the auto show, we usually complete a quarter of our annual sales within the first month."
In addition to the auto show excitement, malls are also offering a range of incentives to boost car sales. Vouchers for parking, dining, travel and even gold bars are being offered as part of promotional giveaways.
"We're offering up to 8,000 yuan (about 1,097 U.S. dollars) in subsidy for each new car purchase. From April to May, we expect to sell around 3,000 new energy vehicles across 21 brands, a 70-percent increase compared to the same period of last year," said Ding Zhongyun, general manager of the Shanghai Longemont Shopping Mall.
As Shanghai's May 5 Shopping Festival approaches, a wide variety of activities and promotional events are awaiting consumers, expected to further fuel the enthusiasm for car purchases.
Shanghai auto show ignites consumer passion for car purchases
