COVID surge threatens to delay Beijing auto show

Beijing auto show organizers are expected to reschedule the April event because of surging coronavirus infections in multiple cities across China.

Discussions were ongoing to reschedule the biennial show, with no official information ready for public release, a source with one of the event's organizers told Automotive News China late last week.

Some press reports indicated the show would be rescheduled for June.

Since the beginning of March, China has faced a new wave of COVID-19, the worst since early 2020, when the pandemic took root.

The latest outbreaks have forced some automakers and suppliers to idle Chinese plants in response to lockdown and quarantine measures imposed by local and regional authorities.

The Beijing and Shanghai auto shows, the country's biggest, rotate annually and draw domestic and global brands.

The last Beijing show, originally scheduled for April 2020, took place in September that year instead.

Mercedes-Benz was expected to use the Beijing event to showcase the EQS SUV, the brand's latest electric vehicle. Audi planned to show the third Sphere concept, the Urbansphere, which hints at the brand's future styling, interior packaging and infotainment.

BMW Group was expected to reveal the next- generation BMW flagship 7 Series, including the i7 EV, at the Beijing show, while Volkswagen brand said it would display the ID Aero concept, the latest model in its growing family of ID electric vehicles.

VW brand CEO Ralf Brandstätter, in an address at the company's annual press conference this month, said the ID Aero will have a super aerodynamic design, a range of around 435 miles, unprecedented space and a premium interior.

The first vehicles will be delivered to China customers in the second half of 2023, he said.

Chinese EV startup Li Auto planned to introduce its second product, the L9 SUV, at the event.