humanoid robots and flying-car ambitions in a cut-throat market. Rows of influencers posed in front of gleaming models at the capital's cavernous international exhibition centre, darting to suitcases stuffed with outfit changes, while animated CEOs worked the crowds in front of massive LED screens.

Legacy overseas brands such as Volkswagen, Toyota and BMW once dominated in China, but have lost market share in past years to domestic firms that beat them to the electric vehicle revolution and undercut them on price. Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Xiaomi and XPeng are now also at the forefront of integrating AI software and autonomous driving technology into their EVs. The Auto China exhibition, hosted at two side-by-side venues, spans 380,000 square metres (four million square feet), according to organisers -- more than 50 football pitches.

More than 1,400 vehicles from hundreds of Chinese and foreign companies are on display from Friday, when the show opened to industry professionals and the media, and later to the public from April 28 until May 3. While traditional leading brands like Germany's BMW and Mercedes held sweeping areas of the vast halls, most of the event's mega stages were dominated by Chinese brands including BYD and battery giant CATL. (Bssnews)