China’s auto market has rebounded smartly from the COVID-19 crash in recent months, executives said on Saturday, as a rare in-person trade show was dominated by talk of recovery in the world’s biggest car market. While conditions have improved vastly from lockdowns that froze economic activity in the country where the pandemic erupted, the Beijing autoshow is a far cry from the usual ebullience as fewer attend, new models are scant and prospects remain uncertain. Doubts remain over the durability of the recovery, but the focus for now is on bright spots such as strong demand for mid-sized to large luxury vehicles and a flood of interest – and investment – in electric vehicles.
