China News Weekly reporter: Liu Shanshan
Published in the 1257th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on October 26, 2026
The northwest wind gradually becomes cooler in autumn. With the National Day holiday over, the peak tourist season on the Gansu-Qinghai Ring Road has come to an end.
A B&B owner on the Ring Road took stock of his revenue this National Day and found that his income was less than last year.
He noticed a new change: many young people coming by car no longer book hotels in advance. When night fell, they parked the car in the service area, folded down the rear seats, put on an air mattress, turned on the parking air conditioner, and settled in the car for the night. The boss was half-joking: In the past, the hotel’s biggest competitor was its neighbor next door, but now its competitor has turned into smart electric vehicles. Sure enough, it was not the second-ranked brand that defeated instant noodles in terms of sales, but takeaway.
Nowadays, this "bed-car self-driving" lifestyle is quietly spreading along popular domestic self-driving routes. The National Day holiday has just ended, and many people have posted their bed and truck travel bills on the Internet. People who spend the night in their cars when traveling by car have their own problems: it is hard to find a hotel room in popular holiday destinations, housing prices remain high, and accommodation conditions vary. Instead of grabbing a high-priced room, it is better to rest in the car and save thousands of dollars in accommodation fees on a long journey, and there is no need to worry about booking a room.
Cars have become temporary shelters, which is almost impossible in the era of fuel vehicles. In addition to the fact that most fuel vehicles cannot "turn into a bed with one click", more importantly, once the air conditioner or heater is turned on overnight, the engine idling will produce a large amount of carbon monoxide, which poses a fatal risk in a confined space. Even if you can tolerate the hot and cold temperature difference and turn off the engine overnight, sleeping in the car still carries the risk of hypoxia.
Nowadays, many new energy vehicles are equipped with a "one-button bed change" function. The air conditioner can continue to run when parked, and some models have built-in camping mode and external discharge functions. Transportation is no longer just responsible for transporting people and luggage to distant places, but has become a mobile space where you can stay and rest for a short time.
This new travel trend started by self-driving players has promoted the launch of more new models suitable for family outings and even camping off-road. In-vehicle life-oriented scene functions are rapidly becoming popular, and constantly iterative smart technologies and new models are bringing this trend to the world.
extension of home
Lao Wu, an office worker who lives in Beijing, previously had very simple criteria for choosing a car: as long as he could travel around and had enough space.
It wasn't until he purchased an additional smart car that he realized that cars were not just a means of transportation, but could also be integrated into all aspects of family life.
"Ever since we switched to trams, the oil truck at home has rarely moved." Lao Wu has already adapted to the new experience brought by the electric era: he can use his mobile phone to remotely turn on the air conditioner before going out. He does not have to face the hot cabin after being exposed to the sun in summer, nor does he have to endure the cold seats in winter. When the whole family goes on a trip, the children in the back seat can use the car screen to pass the time. The trivial burdens on the road are reduced a lot.
On weekdays, this tram is still his exclusive resting space. Before I got this car, I could only lie down on my desk during my lunch break, which made my hands numb and my neck sore. Now, fold down the seats and close the windows, and the car immediately becomes a comfortable and exclusive lunch break space.
Intelligent experiences continue to iterate, the pace of vehicle model updates continues to accelerate, and more and more consumers’ awareness and demand for cars begin to go beyond the scope of traditional transportation tools. Vehicle-mounted refrigerators, large-screen entertainment, and comfortable large cabins, from marketing gimmicks that have been repeatedly questioned, have gradually become the "standard features" for competition in the mid-to-high-end new energy vehicle market.
Changes on the demand side have given rise to a round of concentrated launch of flagship products. A number of "9 Series" models such as the Xpeng G9L, Lantu Dreamer 9, Yijing X9, and SAIC-Volkswagen ID.ERA 9X have recently been released intensively. In the automotive industry, the "9 Series" is basically the brand's flagship model with the highest configuration and the latest technology. Automakers are doing their best to make these large cars a comfortable space for the whole family to travel together.
This year, car companies collectively bet on the "9 Series", and there is an underlying commercial logic: to hedge the pressure on vehicle profitability and improve the profit structure. At present, the price war in the domestic passenger car market continues to compress the gross profit of single vehicles. Mid-range models with high volume generally make small profits or even lose money. It is difficult to support corporate profit targets simply by volume. The "9 Series" has a higher positioning, a higher average selling price of bicycles, and more considerable gross profit margins. He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xpeng Group, told China News Weekly: "Large-scale models must ensure sufficient profits and have huge scale potential from a global perspective."
The centralized release of “9 Series” models also directly confirms the high-end upgrading trend of automobile consumption. As more and more users’ car-purchasing concepts shift from “purchasing a car for just-in-time needs” to “purchasing for quality”, high-end is becoming the core of new car consumption. As the second largest household consumption after real estate, simply paying for travel tools may require repeated consideration. However, when cars gradually become an extension of home, allowing the whole family to enjoy the same comfort and convenience when traveling as at home, high-end cars have become another "rigid necessity."
Off-road for the niche, heading towards the masses
Akai, a "post-90s generation", bought a new hard-core SUV despite his parents' objections. In the eyes of his parents, such a model was not comfortable enough or "family-friendly" enough. But this car satisfied his long-standing desire for off-roading and gave him and his family the possibility to travel to the mountains and seas at any time, although he did not have high-frequency off-roading needs.
In fact, many consumers who choose models with camping and off-road capabilities, like Akai, do not have the opportunity to frequently go into the mountains. What really moves them is their yearning for this relaxed and free lifestyle.
"Whether it is new energy off-road or traditional off-road, it is a small market in itself." Great Wall Motors President Mu Feng said frankly that judging from the usage scenarios of the tank's 500 users, more than 98% are in cities. Some Tank 300 and Tank 500 users have never tried off-roading once, not even light off-roading. In the hearts of consumers, they yearn more for an off-road lifestyle.
"We need to satisfy the inner demands of consumers, and not regard them as functional products, but products with emotional appeal. So we use new energy and intelligent thinking to switch off-road categories to new tracks. There will definitely be an increase. The more supply, the greater the increase, but it may not be proportional." Mu Feng said.
At the same time, hard-core off-roaders dare not slack off in the "hard skills", and the off-road functions of vehicles continue to be improved. At the same time as the "9 Series" urban flagship models were released, a batch of new cars named "700" were launched on the hardcore off-road track.
This batch of models focuses on the integration of off-road performance and smart technology, lowering the threshold for off-road operation and allowing users with no basic experience to experience off-road fun. Hard-core off-roading, once regarded as a niche entertainment tool, is being rewritten in the market position and has become an incremental track in the new automobile consumption scenario.
"Galaxy Battleship 700 even has emergency floating capabilities." Li Chuanhai, vice president of Geely Automobile Group and director of Geely Automobile Research Institute, said.
Hard-core off-roading, which has always been a niche track, has seen a substantial increase in sales in market segments with the diversified development of new energy vehicles in China and the increasing popularity of intelligent assisted driving technology, and has gradually become popular among the public.
"China's off-road industry is rewriting the development trend of the global industry." Zhang Guofu, deputy general manager of BAIC Group and chairman of Beijing Off-Road, said bluntly, "The proportion of independent brands in the off-road market has reached 70%, and the voice of global luxury off-road is tilting towards China."
Global models expand overseas
The wave of domestic new product iterations has laid a new round of product strength foundation for China's automobile exports. Today, domestically produced high-end new energy models are continuing to open up overseas markets, with exports covering Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and other regions. In the past, cost-effective models were used to explore emerging markets, and they have been upgraded to flagship and high-end smart models that have been launched at mainstream auto shows in developed countries and sold to global consumers.
In recent years, China's new energy vehicles have steadily increased their market share in Europe. According to Schmidt Automotive Research data, in the second quarter of 2026, Chinese brands' share of the European automobile market reached 10.7%, up from 5.7% a year ago. In the Western European plug-in hybrid vehicle market, the share of Chinese brands has also risen to more than 26% from 2.2% in the same period two years ago.
Zhang Yongwei, chairman of the Auto Baihui Research Institute, told China News Weekly that he observed a key change during his inspection trip to Europe: local young people love China's intelligent connected new energy vehicles that are easy to use and highly playable, and identify with this new car lifestyle. Chinese car companies can directly connect with C-end users when going overseas. Consumer recognition of Chinese cars will force local industries and governments to adjust relevant policies. This is a new way to go overseas. Exporting domestic mature new automobile lifestyles to the outside world and winning the resonance of global consumers is also a kind of soft power.
From October 12th to 18th, the Paris International Auto Show kicked off. More than 20 Chinese car brands appeared together, doubling the number compared with 2024. Among them, the Avita T09 concept version made its world debut in Paris; Li Auto officially announced its European strategy at the auto show, and the Li 6 (domestic model is the Lideal i6) made its European debut at the same time;
Wu Anfei, general manager of Xpeng Group's product matrix, told China News Weekly: "What we are thinking more about is how to make this five-seater flagship model not only recognized by Chinese users, but also impress global consumers."
Of course, while the scale of overseas exports continues to expand, Chinese automobiles are also facing various tests including product quality, localized quality control, overseas supervision and after-sales systems. Recently, a rear wheel of Chery's OMODA 5 fell off in the Malaysian market. Chery immediately carried out technical inspections and initiated a recall of 8,878 local vehicles involved. It provided free maintenance and replacement of parts. It also simultaneously carried out risk inspections for the same batch of vehicles in domestic and other related markets, and proactively apologized to the public.
This incident also reminded the industry that going overseas is not just about selling complete vehicles overseas, but also requires establishing a globally unified standard quality control system and localized after-sales network, taking into account different national regulations, road conditions and user usage habits.
In order to guide automobile companies to standardize their overseas operations, on September 1, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Guidelines for Overseas Competition and Compliance Construction in the Automobile Industry" to provide a reference for regulating the overseas market competition behavior of automobile industry enterprises and improving their overseas localized compliance operation capabilities.
In recent years, the competent authorities have attached great importance to the industrial transformation driven by new energy vehicles and have continued to issue relevant policies to guide the standardized and healthy development of the industry.
The automotive industry is currently at a critical stage of sales structure transformation. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, domestic passenger car sales reached 19.96 million units from January to September 2026, of which 12.472 million new energy vehicles were sold, which has become the main force in market sales. Market competition has become increasingly fierce, and the issue of "quick cars" has also attracted widespread attention. In order to seize market share, some car companies have excessively compressed the research and development cycle, deleted the actual vehicle verification process, and hastily launched new cars.
In response to this phenomenon, regulatory measures have been intensively introduced to build a solid bottom line for safety. On October 10, four departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly released the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Innovative Design and R&D Testing and Verification of Automotive Products (Draft for Comments)";
On October 15, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation organized more than 30 key automobile manufacturers to hold discussions to strengthen automobile product R&D, testing and verification management, further standardize industry development, and secure the bottom line of product safety.
As a bulk consumer product in the national economy, changes in demand for automobiles are also a manifestation of changes in residents' consumption. As the industry chain technology continues to iterate, in-vehicle life scenarios will continue to expand, and product segmentation will become more abundant. High-end, scenario-based, and personalized will define the new main line of automobile consumption in the long term.
In Zhang Yongwei's view, the era of relying on scale expansion to drive growth is coming to an end, and the industry's future growth must rely on innovation to tap new demands. There are still a large number of user needs that have not been fully satisfied in the automobile market. Companies that can accurately identify and implement such needs are representatives of the new productivity of the automobile industry.
When people are willing to pay for a longing, an instant trip, and an experience that pleases themselves, the consumption logic of cars, a "bulk consumer product," is being quietly rewritten by consumers' daily lives.
"China News Weekly" Issue 39, 2026
