Autopromotec attended AutoEcoSystems 2026 in Shenzhen
Paola Zaccheroni
Autopromotec’s visit to AutoEcoSystems 2026 in Shenzhen provided an opportunity to take a close look at a rapidly expanding market, featuring a wide range of new vehicles and an aftermarket approach strongly focused on customisation, modification and engaging a new generation of enthusiasts. In this context, Italy played a leading role in the debate on automotive design and product identity.
As part of its internationalisation activities, Autopromotec took part in AutoEcoSystems 2026, scheduled from 20 to 23 March at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, with an institutional stand supporting the Italian delegation and a programme designed to facilitate contacts and commercial opportunities in the Chinese market.
The event painted a picture of a rapidly expanding sector, in which the industry faces fierce internal competition that requires brands to strengthen their identity, positioning and distinctive capabilities.
In addition to new vehicles, the focus in Shenzhen is primarily on the more emotional and experiential side of the car: car care, wrapping, tuning, interior and exterior customisation, wheels and tyres, digital dashboards, accessories, infotainment systems and lighting solutions.
It is precisely this focus that makes AutoEcoSystems particularly interesting for understanding the evolution of the Chinese market: not only industrial capacity and volumes, but also the drive to build product culture and support aspirational consumption. The figures released by the organisers – 398,000 visitors, 600,000 square metres of exhibition space, 8,200 international buyers, 2,000 exhibit cars and 25,000 new products presented – clearly reflect the scale of the event and its strong focus on public engagement.
In this context, Italy was the sole protagonist of the event’s main conference, “The 1st Global Automotive Design and Innovation Conference”, curated by Pietro Camardella, a leading figure in international car design thanks to his long career at Pininfarina, Ferrari and the Fiat Research Centre. This is no coincidence: whilst China has now caught up with and surpassed the West in industrial terms, the area where it continues to seek guidance is that of identity-building.
In just a few decades, Chinese industry has made up for a huge historical deficit, going so far as to surpass the West in terms of speed, scale and operational capability. It has absorbed languages and codes drawn in part from European and Italian traditions, but this is precisely the crux of the matter: creativity cannot be replicated, and identity cannot be built through imitation.
For this reason, having consolidated its industrial and technological strength, China is now asking itself what it still lacks: the formula for creating vehicles that are not imitations of what already exists, but representations of brand identity and interpretations of the imagination of the public it targets. This is the area in which
Italy continues to exert a particular appeal: that of a tradition which, for centuries, has been able to intertwine art, material culture, craftsmanship and the market, transforming aesthetic heritage into design and identity.
For the Italian system, and for a platform such as Autopromotec, this is an important sign. At a time when the Chinese market is seeking not only technology but also vision, product culture and design quality, Italy continues to be recognised as an authoritative partner.
