Chinese manufacturers grow strong in the Automobile

Chinese brands are making a strong impression on the market, and they will do so also at Automobile Barcelona. The benchmark motor industry show is already warming up for its 43rd edition, and it does so with some thirty vehicle brands that will exhibit their novelties at the event. Of these, a third will be Chinese, with a dozen brands from the Asian giant doubling their presence compared to the previous edition.

As a whole, the thirty brands will attend the biennial event with a powerful display of their proposals and novelties, which will emphasize electrification and will include more than one European and world premiere. The show, which has the backing of the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac), will be held from May 9 to 18 at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc venue, and aims to surpass the number of visitors from the last edition, which attracted 360,000 people in 2023.

"We are going to have a great show," guaranteed the event's president, Enrique Lacalle, along with the director of the event, José Miguel García, and Fira's International Business Director, Ricard Zapatero. The event, which has a 106-year history, will kick off on Friday, May 9, with a professional day, and the following day will open to the general public, with the aim of attracting visitors ---and potential buyers--- until the following weekend. To expand the audience, the show will take advantage of the classic Barça-Madrid match held in Montjuïc on May 11. Thus, people attending the match will be able to access the event for free, which will also feature 40 exhibitors beyond car brands.

In addition to test driving cars and strolling among the latest models in the exhibition area, visitors will be able to drive on the layout of the historic Montjuïc circuit and participate in activities that are still being defined and that will approach motorsport. Furthermore, the show will serve as a promotional lever for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, managed by Fira since the beginning of the year and with which the show explores possible synergies.

Through the exhibition area and activities, the Automobile will once again serve as a showcase for the sector, in an edition that will expand its surface area by nearly 15%, although this time there will be no motorcycles. Brands such as Ebro, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Omoda, Renault, Tesla, Suzuki, and Volvo will fill Fira's halls 1 and 8, on either side of Maria Cristina Avenue. In the center, the Plaça del Univers will overflow with the proposals and novelties from Seat and Cupra, which will make a strong appearance at the show coinciding with their 75th anniversary.

The car manufacturer based in Martorell will attend the show with announcements and novelties, such as the creation of the Seat Cupra Foundation. This was announced last week by its CEO, Wayne Griffiths, who advocated for a renewal of the show and its concept. In response to this commitment, the show's organizers have emphasized that they are available to the firms to discuss the future of the event. "Everything can be innovated and changed, and if we do it together, all the better," added Lacalle, who highlighted that a two-year period is now open to define the next edition: "We are open to the ideas of all presidents, always in a positive way."

The next edition, in fact, will have a peculiarity that must be addressed: some areas of Fira's Montjuïc venue will be under construction to complete its renovation coinciding with the centenary of the 1929 International Exposition. "At Fira, we will continue to have many spaces to host large events," Zapatero emphasized.

"In 2029, we will return," assured Lacalle, who continues to bet on Montjuïc to hold the event. However, the president of the Automobile since 2001 assures that he will not experience this future edition from the same position: he has said that May's edition will be the last one he leads as president of the event.

With nearly a quarter-century at the helm of the show, Lacalle has claimed that the Automobile is one of the three main events in the sector at a European level, along with Brussels and Paris, and after the closure of Geneva's. "The show is a sales driver," with 70% of its visitors willing to buy.

"Brands that don't come are making a mistake, and leave an empty space at a difficult time for the industry," Lacalle warned. Vehicle purchases have been accumulating declining figures, despite the passenger car market having started 2025 with an 8.4% increase in registrations. Despite this increase, Lacalle insisted on the need to promote aid to encourage vehicle purchases, also to rejuvenate a vehicle fleet with an average age of more than 14 years.