I’ve just returned from the Beijing Auto Show 2026, and one thing is certain: the Chinese automotive industry is a completely different dimension of "creative freedom." With halls twice the size of anything in Europe, crowds of livestreamers at every booth, and more brands than I can possibly remember, it was quite the trip. In this video, I’m taking you on a tour of the most impressive, unusual, and downright bizarre premieres I found in Beijing.
From rugged iCar crossovers to luxury Jetour SUVs that can literally float on water, and a Chinese interpretation of Audi that’s causing quite a stir—Beijing 2026 is a festival of "what on earth is that?". We also dive into the EREV (Range Extender) craze. Is a 1.5L generator really the solution to all our problems, or just a repetitive template for every single SUV?
In this video:
• The Festival of Clones: Why do so many new models look like a Range Rover, a Defender, or a Porsche Taycan?
• EREV Dominance: From small crossovers to 3-ton monsters—why is there almost always a 1.5L engine under the hood?
• BYD & Friends: A look at the latest from Denza and Fangchengbao, including the Ti7.
• Luxury & Absurdity: From gold-trimmed Auxun vans to passenger drones designed to skip the traffic.
• Global Brands in China: How Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen are trying to hold their ground against the local giants.
Key Takeaways - Chinese Tech Trends:
• EREV Revolution: The dominant trend is the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV), using a 1.5L combustion engine solely as a generator.
• The "Audi" Twist: The AUDI E5 Sportback (without the four rings logo) is a joint venture product for the Chinese market, based on the IM LS6.
• Insane Value: High-performance EVs like the AVATR 06T (970 HP, 0-100 in 2.8s) are priced around €35,000 in China—a fraction of European prices.
• Niche Innovation: Jetour’s SUVs with amphibious capabilities and INFLYNC’s hybrid passenger taxi drones.
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? Also watch:
BAIC Beijing 5 (Senova X55) https://youtu.be/2nuM_trHIWk
Jetour T2: https://youtu.be/fhhiWZd532Y
Voyah Free: https://youtu.be/o2xCH-Uqm24
Mercedes-AMG SL 63 https://youtu.be/F3L5XNo8N-g
Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon: https://youtu.be/CzlYjmpt_lc
#MarekDrivesENG #BeijingAutoShow #AutoChina #ChinaCars #EREV #BYD #CarReview #FutureMobility
? Thanks for watching Marek Drives reviews. If you liked it, here are several other channels you may enjoy: Autophorie, Autogefühl, Bob Flavin, Carfection, Carwow, Doug DeMuro, Driven Car Reviews, Fully Charged, TheSmokingTire, TheStraightPipes, VINwiki.
?Transparency note: ?
Marek Drives reviews are independent and based on personal experience with cars provided by car manufacturers for media to review. No carmaker has any influence on what is being said in the review, nor are they given a preview. No carmaker pays me to do these reviews. My sponsors are you - the viewers, Channel Members, and occasional non-carmaker entities, whose sponsorship is always clearly marked.
My trip to China was organised and paid for by BYD.
Chapters:
0:00 intro
1:31 iCar
2:30 Exeed
3:10 Jetour
4:00 BMW
4:17 Mercedes-Benz
4:46 Luxeed
5:23 XPeng
5:43 BYD
6:14 Denza
6:43 Fangchengbao
7:17 BAIC
8:23 Auxun
8:48 Avatr
9:26 Aistaland
9:47 Porsche
10:17 drones / Inflync
10:54 Mazda
11:04 Buick
11:44 IM
12:41 Voyah
13:06 Roewe
13:18 MHero
13:46 Epicland
14:08 HongQi
14:57 Audi
15:57 Volkswagen
16:24 Toyota
16:48 Deepal
17:10 Volvo
17:30 ROX
17:55 Nissan
18:22 Hyundai
18:49 Firefly