8 Smart NEVs to Watch at 2026 Chengdu Auto Show

The 29th Chengdu International Auto Show opens August 21, and smart technology is the main battleground. Legacy brands and Chinese challengers alike are arriving with localised ADAS, AI cockpits and deep ecosystem integration — no longer just range and spec sheets.

This first look covers eight models the industry is watching most closely. A second piece will follow.

BMW i3 (New Generation Long-Wheelbase)

Status: Official debut · On sale: Q4 2026 via Brilliance BMW

BMW's China-specific i3 is the first volume model to adopt the Momenta intelligent-driving package, tuned for complex Chinese road conditions. At its core sits "Heart of Joy," a vehicle-control brain that coordinates powertrain, braking and chassis in milliseconds — BMW says response speed is roughly ten times faster than conventional architectures.

The cockpit runs BMW's panoramic iDrive with a 3D head-up display and a visual-cone layout that keeps driver gaze near the road. The underlying OS X stack integrates Alibaba Cloud's AI model and DeepSeek reasoning for natural-language assistant interactions.

Under the metal, the Neue Klasse dedicated EV platform carries a 3005 mm wheelbase, 800 V architecture and a 108.7 kWh large-cylinder battery. CLTC range exceeds 1000 km, with 400 km added in 10 minutes of fast charging. Dual-motor AWD produces 345 kW and a 0-100 km/h time of 4.7 seconds.

Mercedes-Benz Long-Wheelbase GLE SUV

Status: Global premiere (August 21) · On sale: Later this year

Mercedes is betting heavily on localisation. The GLE uses the in-house MB.OS architecture and will be the first volume Mercedes to run Momenta's R7 world-model ADAS, offering city and highway navigation assist with OTA updates. It marks a shift from supplier-supplied black-box systems to a co-developed Chinese solution.

The cockpit is also being rebuilt by a China-based team for local voice, navigation and entertainment integration. Wheelbase stretches to 3115 mm; rear seats gain heating and multi-point massage.

Stelato V8

Status: World premiere · On sale: Later this year

Stelato's first MPV — a joint effort between BAIC and Huawei — carries the full Huawei Qiankun ADS 5 stack with an 896-line dual-channel image-grade LiDAR, four times the point-cloud density of the previous generation. City, highway and valet-parking scenarios are covered.

The HarmonyOS cockpit enables seamless phone-to-car-to-tablet task hand-off, aimed squarely at family users. Dimensions: 5335 × 2005 × 1825 mm, wheelbase 3250 mm, seven seats. Powertrain choices include a 1.5 T range extender (118 kW) paired with 56 or 75 kWh batteries, with a mainstream pricing band around 300,000–400,000 RMB (approx. $41,670–$55,560).

Stelato G9

Status: On sale since August 20 · Pre-sale: 439,800–559,800 RMB (approx. $61,080–$77,750), over 15,000 orders received

The G9 is Huawei's first foray into the boxy off-roader segment. It features L3-grade architecture and has already obtained Beijing's first 120 km/h L3 road-test permit. The 896-line LiDAR and 38 sensors feed a new all-terrain assist system that recognises surface types and auto-adjusts chassis parameters — extending high-level ADAS onto unpaved ground.

Body: 5206 mm (5377 mm with spare-wheel carrier), wheelbase 3160 mm. EREV combo delivers up to 1366 km combined range; pure-electric version with a 120 kWh pack claims 728 km CLTC. Dual-motor AWD at 437 kW hits zero to hundred in the four-second range. The Turban all-terrain platform adds dual-chamber air suspension, CDC dampers, ±12° rear-wheel steering and an 800 V fully active detachible stabiliser bar, with a 900 mm wading depth.

SAIC Volkswagen ID.ERA 8X

Status: World premiere · On sale: Later this year

The 8X is a mid-size EREV SUV built around Momenta R7-based "Yunxing" ADAS — city and highway NOA rated among China's top tier. A Yunxing digital chassis plus VMC control hub links steering, throttle and braking decisions into one loop, which Volkswagen calls its new definition of German driving dynamics.

The interior keeps VW's no-nonsense layout: a instrument-cluster magic screen, door-panel smart surface and a 15.6 inch centre touch panel. Dimensions: 5020 mm overall, 2970 mm wheelbase. Battery options are 51.1 or 65.2 kWh; combined range tops 1500 km, with the 1.5 T EA211 extender rated at 105 kW and a peak motor output of 220 kW. Dual-chamber air suspension with Magic Carpet ride is fitted.

SAIC Volkswagen ID.ERA 5S

Status: Already launched

Pre-sale pricing: 115,900–145,900 RMB (approx. $16,095–$20,265)

The 5S is notable for bringing City NOA into the 150,000 RMB bracket — the first time the feature has landed in this price segment from a joint-venture maker. The system is co-developed with Coremotion, built on Horizon Journey chips and an HSD one-stage end-to-end model covering city/highway NOA, valet parking,迹倒车 and narrow-road assist.

CLTC pure-electric range is 160 km; combined range exceeds 2000 km with a WLTC equivalent fuel consumption of just 2.82 L/100 km. Four trims are offered.

Xiaomi Pengcheng N90 Max & N70 Max

Status: Interior world premiere · On sale: September 2026

Xiaomi's first range-extender SUVs carry the self-developed Kunlun ADAS stack. The N90 Max adds a rear-facing solid-state LiDAR for extra perception coverage; both support highway and city navigation assist plus automatic and memory parking.

The cockpit runs Xiaomi HyperOS with an 8.8 inch digital cluster, 20 inch HUD and 16.1 inch centre screen powered by a Qualcomm 8650 chip — enabling the brand's signature phone-home-car ecosystem hand-off.

• N90 Max: 5285 × 1998 × 1825 mm, wheelbase 3080 mm, seven-seat layout with four zero-gravity chairs. 1.5 T extender + dual motors, 76 kWh pack, 464 km pure-electric CLTC range, 1705 km combined. Pre-sale: 299,900 RMB (approx. $41,655).
• N70 Max: 4960 × 1998 × 1765 mm, wheelbase 2950 mm, five-seat AWD. Two battery sizes — 76 or 52 kWh — with up to 505 km pure-electric CLTC range. Pre-sale: 259,900 RMB (approx. $36,097).

What This Wave Means

The Chengdu show is revealing three clear trends. Legacy marques — BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen — are abandoning the black-box ADAS playbook and partnering with Chinese suppliers like Momenta, Coremotion and Horizon to localise city NOA at scale. Huawei-powered Stelato is expanding its footprint into MPVs and hard-core SUVs, pushing L3 architecture and all-terrain assist into volume segments. Xiaomi is taking its ecosystem playbook into the largest and most crowded NEV category — family SUVs — at prices that undercut many rivals.

For buyers, the takeaway is simple: high-level smart driving is no longer a premium-only feature. It is migrating downmarket, and the price floor keeps dropping.