The weird & wonderful at the Guangzhou motor show

The Guangzhou motor show is a fast-growing show, displaying all the important new models in what is today easily the world's largest car market. Join us for the interesting highlights

Mark Tisshaw

by Mark Tisshaw

16 November 2018

Follow @mtisshaw

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The Chinese car market has evolved rapidly in recent years, the cars of its domestic car makers now more credible than ever.

For the most part, the bland saloons and copycats of western cars are gone, replaced with a contemporary wave of SUVs and electric cars.

Many are on show at this week’s Guangzhou motor show, China’s second-largest car show that runs in the south of the country. Here are some of the home-grown highlights:
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ROEWE MARVEL X

Imagine a world where everyone lived happily ever after at MG in the middle of the last decade: would the Marvel X be the kind of car Rover would be making today? Instead, the brand formerly known as Rover was reborn as Roewe in China, successfully owned and run by SAIC. And it’s latest model is this, the Marvel X. A decent looker it is, too.
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WEY P8 GT

Wey is the new premium SUV arm of Great Wall, designed to compliment China’s best-selling SUV maker, Haval. The P8 is its range-topper, and it has now spawned this sportier version, the GT. Wey is one of the Chinese car brands trying to build up export appeal for Europe and North America.

Haval is already sold in some export markets, including in Asia and further afield in South Africa and Australia.
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HONGQI HS7

One of the more surprising industry moves of recent times was the departure of long-time Rolls-Royce design chief Giles Taylor to FAW. The Chinese car maker is best know for its Hongqi brand, the premium/luxury car maker that’s as close as China has to Rolls-Royce. Taylor wouldn’t have been too closely involved in Hongqi’s latest model, the HS7, but the big, brash SUV shows the kind of cars Taylor will be tasked with the styling of.
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CHANGAN EADO GT

Notice anything familiar about this Changan hatchback? It’s fair to say it’s been heavily ‘inspired’ by the Mazda 3. Yet one thing this XT concept version of the Eado can do that the Mazda can’t, is a little dance on its suspension. Every minute or so, the Eado would light up like a disco, and start bobbing around. As extraordinary to watch as the design is brazen.
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BESTUNE T77

As well as making the Hongqi premium cars, FAW also makes the more mainstream Bestune models. Up until recently, Bestune was known as Besturn, the reasons for the rebranding away from something sounding like a hotel chain unknown. Bestune’s latest model is the T77, another smart, contemporary SUV that the better of China’s car makers are now making with regularity.
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BJ40 PLUS

China is yet to fully wean itself off the copycat culture, as the BJ40 proves. The Jeep Wrangler wannabe isn’t a new model, but this even more rugged Plus version is. Its maker is the state-owned BAIC, which is based in Beijing.
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BAIC BJ80

And just to prove the copycat point at BAIC, the BJ80 is China’s answer to the Mercedes G-Wagen. An answer to a question nobody asked.
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XIAOPENG G3

The established Chinese car makers are now being joined up a new breed of start-ups, each very well funded and making electric cars. One of the most significant players is Xiaopeng, which counts retail giant Alibaba and media giant Foxconn among its key backers. Its first model is the G3, an electric SUV, the production version of which is at the show today.
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CHANGAN CS85

What comes after the SUV? The SUV-coupé, a trend that has now spread to China. Changan’s CS85 had perhaps the biggest crowd of all the domestic cars around it at the show, those around it noticing a strong resemblance to the BMW X4 in profile, but to be fair Changan’s own styling throughout the rest of its latest model.
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HONDA EVERUS

Honda has joined forces with Chinese car maker GAC to create a new EV sub-brand, Everus. The first model, the VE1, is understood to be loosely based on the HR-V. The sub-brand is China-only for now, with foreign car makers having a legal obligation to team up with domestic brands they partner with and launch such sub-brands.
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QOROS 3 GT EV

Remember Qoros? The brand was the first Chinese car maker with real global ambitions, its very creation being designed with European exports from the off. To that end, it recruited the then Mini chief designer, Gert Hildebrand. But it fell into funding difficulty and its plans never took off.

However, with fresh investment, Qoros has a growing model range once more in its home market, including this electric version of its 3 GT.
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LYNK & CO 3

The third model in Geely’s start-up brand, another with European launch ambitions from the off, is the 3 sports saloon. It was first seen back in the summer at the smaller Chengdu motor show, but it brought a much bigger audience to Guangzhou, as this picture shows. A well-proportioned, compact model, the 3 will also spawn a racing version as part of Lynk & Co’s competition plans.
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BAOJUN RS-5

Baojun, a brand created as part of a joint venture between Chinese car makers Wuling and SAIC alongside General Motors, is the fourth SUV in its growing and popular range. The RS-5 is its new range-topping SUV.
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ORA iQ and ORA R1

Another new electric sub-brand is Ora (no relation to Rita), this one owned by Great Wall. Its initial models include the iQ (left, and no relation to the Toyota) and the R1 (right). The iQ badge will be used for saloons and SUVs, and the R name for city cars, the R1 on sale next year with an impressive 186-mile electric range.
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BYD SONG DM and BYD TANG EV

Wondering what happened to ex-Audi chief designer Wolfgang Egger? He’s emerged at Chinese car maker BYD, and is behind its new range of saloons and SUVs. Among them is the Song DM (right), a large plug-in hybrid crossover, and the Tang fully electric crossover (left) with a range of more than 370 miles.
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BYD YUAN EV360

Of all the cars to want to take design ‘inspiration’ from, the pre-facelift Ford EcoSport isn’t one of them. But this BYD does just that.
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JETOUR X CONCEPT

Jetour is an offshoot of Chery and has been created with the sale of SUVs, including plug-in hybrid and electric versions, in mind. It’s a rival to Great Wall’s premium SUV maker Wey, which has global ambitions. There’s no getting away from the name of the maker of the Jetour X Concept on that front grille, the concept previewing an electric SUV that’s due to reach production in 2020.
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GAC 2U, 2ALL and 2US CONCEPTS

The Guangzhou motor show is GAC’s home turf, and on one of the show’s largest stands (the largest of all was Jaguar Land Rover’s, surprisingly), it displayed three different versions of a new mobility concept. The 2U, 2ALL (pictured) and 2US were created with German chemicals giant BASF.
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GAC AION

Another new concept car from GAC is the Aion, which previews a new electric saloon. It’s set to be sold under a new sub-brand, GAC New Energy. Built on a second-generation electric platform, GAC claims the Aion has a theoretical cruising range of more than 370 miles.
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ARCFOX LITE

You may remember the Arcfox name from an electric supercar concept from BAIC at the 2016 Beijing motor show. Development of the production version is taking place in Barcelona, and is due soon. But the Arcfox name is being used elsewhere, including on the oddball Arcfox Lite, which has a claimed electric range of 186 miles.
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BAIC EX3

BAIC is one of the market leaders for electric cars, all sold under its Beijing Auto New Energy (BJEV) sub-brand. The EX3 is its latest model to launch, pitched in the heartland compact crossover segment. Its range is close to 250 miles.
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FORD ESCORT

And finally… Yes you read that right – you can still buy a 'Ford Escort'. Indeed, it’s been one of Ford’s best-selling cars in China since its launch there in 2015. This is the latest version, and we quite like it…
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FORD ESCORT

And no, you can’t get it in the UK, though we can’t help thinking that this car could be the Ford to take the fight to Dacia at the burgeoning budget end of the car market.

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