Warlords, fembots, flying cars and fluff-wrapped electric SUVs. We sample Auto Shanghai 2025’s curious standouts | Opinion

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China is the new king of car shows. Forget Frankfurt, Geneva or Detroit, if you want to be fully wowed automotively, you must make it to Shanghai or Beijing.

Chasing Cars was on the ground at this year’s Auto Shanghai 2025, and we’ve given fair coverage to the important announcements, new vehicle reveals and industry news.

But what about the fun stuff? You know, the cars you drag your mates over to see. The revolutionary likes of which you’ve never witnessed before. 

The concepts that’ll never get close to production, the madness, the things you photograph and put on Insta with a ‘wtf!?’ tagline.

Motoring journos are enthusiasts, too. So once the important work is done (interviews, media conferences, mini cheesecakes, etc.) we like to wander the show halls and drink it all in.

Shanghai offered plenty. Once we’d battled a solid hour of QR codes, passport checks and facial recognition to actually get inside, we were treated to around 50 different brands showcasing their often bizarre wares across ten massive show halls.

China’s car industry is absolutely booming, and is now by far the world’s largest. It shows. Brands, sub-brands and ones seemingly only having existed for five minutes crammed the exhibition. Legacy types like Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mazda and Toyota had some interesting metal, but their current production models looked worryingly old hat.

By contrast, the Chinese don’t mind going a bit bonkers with their cars and concepts, and aren’t hamstrung by tradition nor, seemingly, many rules at all. And as is traditional, it wouldn’t be a Chinese car show without a few dubious body designs inspired/outright copied from Western manufacturers.

So what did we see? Well, the Chinese are embracing off-road and lifestyle accessories for their pickups and SUVs large and small, and while electrification is king, GWM came along and shook us with a V8 PHEV engine alongside the world’s first boxer eight-cylinder motorcycle. Go figure.

There was a disturbing amount of vehicles fully wrapped in fluffiness a la Dumb and Dumber’s van, an army of fembots, flying cars seemingly ready for production and some kind of half monkey-half human Samurai warlord guarding modified BYDs. We’re grateful for the Melbourne Motor Show, but you’re not going to see stuff like that.

My Garmin said I covered 23,000 steps on my show exploration day, and these are some of the maddest highlights.

Hongqi Auto’s concept off-road SUV, complete with solid-looking Chinese military guard, has styling inspired by traditional Chinese woodworking in architecture. It still looks like a Land Rover Defender from the side and a G-Wagen from the front. Apparently it uses a quad electric motor system, hits 100km/h in four seconds and features three diff locks. 

The Wuling Baojun Yep Plus is Suzuki Jiimny sized but with an electric powertrain, offering 401km range from its 42kWh battery. Appealingly, these five-door funksters retail for around $22,000 when converted from Chinese yuan. That’s very cheap. 

Cute and lifestyle ready, the Chinese brand showed them with knobbly tyres, roof ladder and camping gear. More disturbingly, there was a pink one dressed like an ice cream with a three-metre tall teddy bear.

Wuling’s stand had the giant slogan “Game for Peace”, which is reassuring. Its Hongguang Mini EV costs under $10,000, making it the cheapest electric car in China.

Also on display, its Mini Van with sliding side doors is the tiniest camper you’ll ever see, and does its aero no favours with a loaded roof rack atop its already tall shape. 

A Mini EV was shown coated in fur — we think it’s meant to be a four-wheeled capybara — with the fluff extending to every interior surface too.

Chery’s iCar brand could be a dead set winner. An Australian launch is planned (although they’ll rebrand to iCAUR), and its boxy little EV SUVs nail the aesthetic appeal.

Its pint-sized Defender/G-Wagen inspired 03 offers over 400km electric range from single or dual electric motors, but grabbing attention at the show was its new V23.

A retro masterpiece and definitely for urban rather than off-road use, an SUV and mini ute were shown, the latter like a baby Jeep Gladiator. Its cabin is versatile although very plastic, but boasts a 15.4-inch screen. Its Chinese price translates to around $21,000, which piques the interest.

Wrapping one in pink fur (including for the wheels and tyres) and with a Born To Play slogan ensured it was a crowd favourite too.

The only stand to have working rainfall around its car, showing rivals must work harder. This is the Roewe “Pearl of China” concept car, a hyper-luxe EV sedan penned by Rolls Royce’s former head of design.

Roewe is a SAIC Motor brand (also brings you MG), and the Pearl EV is a giant white barge of serious elegance, boasting suicide and frameless doors, skinny LED lights, and lots of gold detailing. A rival to Jaguar’s Type 00? Looks like it. Expect them at Saudi malls very soon.

Keeping things a bit more real-world, Haval’s H9 large SUV with Meti Force styling well illustrated how China is pushing ahead with proper lifestyle vehicles.

Dressed in bright orange paint with black contrast roof, it featured white rims, all-terrain tyres and side panniers ready for adventuring. Its hybrid all-wheel-drive system rather than proper 4×4 underpinnings would prevent such things, but the thought’s there.

Nothing attracts kids (especially we big ones) like a six-wheeler, and Xpeng’s delivered. Its triple-axle AeroHT is apparently set for production in 2026, and is designed as a road-going aircraft carrier ready to accept a two-seat eVTOL (electric flying drone/car) on its roof. This is billionaire lifestyle stuff.

Its Chinese price translates to around $430,000, but you’re buying something that out-toughs a Cybertruck and has an estimated 1000km range thanks to a small petrol engine plus electric motors.

But six wheels is still the coolest aspect.

MG’s Cyber X shows the brand has the ability to build very appealing cars. And this chunky, funky small SUV looks infinitely more useful, relevant and desirable than MG’s Cyberster EV sportscar.

And – stop the press – it has pop-up headlights! If they can sneak back past design regulations, the world would be a better place. It’s a full EV with an integrated cell-to-body battery. 

Who doesn’t want an adventure van? Chery’s Journeo Concept has a rear end like an eco cabin, its giant glass oval tailgate letting lying-down occupants enjoy the view from a funky cocoon.

It looks rugged, off-road ready and features cool features like sliding pop-out doors, a yoke-style steering wheel, 180-degree rotating front seats and a mobile kitchen and barbecue. 

And adventures can be odysseys. Its 2.0L turbo four-cylinder plus electric hybrid system claims up to 2500km range. We’re not sure how, unless the fuel tank’s a whopper.

Possibly the coolest vehicle at the show.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision V was one of few standouts from Euro brands. It’s an electric people mover concept previewing the next V-Class, and promises 500km range and DC fast charging over 320kW.

The exterior lighting and 24-inch rims offer mad presence, and the cabin is like a padded doona with roll-style seats, open-pore wood cabinets and a 4K 65-inch cinema screen.