China's carmakers had spent much of the summer signalling restraint.

China's auto industry is still expanding at remarkable scale, but its 2025 interim results show a sector dividing sharply between leaders with technology, exports and cash flow, and laggards struggling to survive the electric transition.

For years, a familiar line has accompanied new-car launches in China: more than 10,000 early reservations. The number is meant to signal a hit before the first serious delivery data arrives.

 The opening day of the 2025 Chengdu motor show felt unusually subdued. Rain thinned the early crowds, and the traditional media-day atmosphere was weaker than in previous years.

 The 2025 Chengdu motor show is shaping up as a visible marker of China's changing auto hierarchy.  

The Audi E5 Sportback arrives with a price range of roughly $33,000 to $44,000, a level that would have looked unusual for a luxury-brand electric coupe only a few years ago.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW are facing pressure from several directions at once: China's brutal new-energy vehicle competition, weaker global earnings, trade-policy uncertainty and a European regulatory path that still points toward the phase-out of new combustion-engine cars.

 GAC Honda is preparing for a leadership change at a point when its old strengths are weakening and its new-energy strategy has yet to find traction.

Mercedes-Benz is cutting authorised dealerships in China at a pace that marks a dramatic shift from its previous expansion.

FAW-Volkswagen's new Talagon arrives at a revealing moment for China's car market.