An Excellent Adventure For Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, & Nissan In Shanghai

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Remember when the world used to flock to the Detroit Auto Show every year to ogle all the latest models? Today, the world goes to Shanghai Auto instead, which illustrates how far behind the US auto industry is today. CATL started things off in  Shanghai this year by introduced three new battery innovations that clearly shows it is still the leader in that field, although BYD is not far behind.

Twenty years ago, US, Japanese, and European automakers raced to get a foothold in China’s new car market, but when the government began to prioritize electric cars, all those foreign automakers were caught flatfooted with nothing to sell but cars with internal combustion engines. Now they are trying to play catch-up with new battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models of their own. Here’s a look at some of the new models vying for attention in Shanghai this week.

Toyota & Lexus

Toyota debuted the new bZ7, a 5-meter-long (16.4 foot) 4-door battery-electric sedan the company says was developed in China in cooperation with its Chinese partner GAC and the Toyota Intelligent ElectroMobility R&D Center in China. According to Toyota, the bZ7 combines the strengths of both companies — Toyota’s safe, reliable, and high quality manufacturing and GAC’s cutting-edge technology. Officially, the car is still a design study with the production car expected to go on sale with the next 12 months.

No specs were made available in the press release about the car, but Toyota reps told Car News China the bZ7 will be the first GAC-Toyota model to be equipped with Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system for the infotainment and cockpit. There is also Lidar for the driving assistance systems, which hints at advanced semi-autonomous driving capability.

By contrast, details about the new Lexus ES sedan were plentiful. It will be available with two drive options. The ES 350e has a 165 kW (220 hp) front-mounted motor and a range of up to 685 km (425 mi) in the Chinese test cycle. The ES 500e is a 252 kW (340 hp) all-wheel drive version with two electric motors that shave 3 full seconds off the 0-100 km time.

According to Toyota, the car can drive solely in front-wheel or rear-wheel drive mode or any combination in between. Both versions of the ES are said to have a range of 610 km (380 mi), which suggests they use the same battery. Charging is limited to a rather disappointing 150 kW. Depending on the market, the ES will also be available as good old fashioned hybrid with a variety of engine choices. Oh, joy!

Mazda EZ-60 SUV

I have a confession to make. I think Mazda has some of the best looking cars on the road today. Its designs are uniformly clean and modern with none of the creases that begin and end in random locations and enormous grilles that look like nuclear powered cheese graters (ahem…Lexus). But Mazda is very late to the electric car party in most world markets. This week in Shanghai, it introduced a new midsize battery-electric SUV known as the EZ-60. Last year, Mazda brought its EZ-6 sedan to the Chinese market.

The EZ-60 is a virtual twin to the Deepal S07 introduced to customers in Europe last month. Deepal is a brand of Changan, which is Mazda’s partner in China. The car will come with a single electric motor located on the rear axle with an output of 160 kW (215 hp) or 190 kW (255 hp). The battery has a capacity of 80 kWh and range is expected to be about 600 km (370 mi). For China, the EZ-60 will also be available with a range extender engine that is not a rotary.

In a press release, Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda said, “In addition to the Mazda EZ-6, which was launched in the Chinese market last year and received positive feedback, we will challenge ourselves to break new ground for Mazda’s business in China with this new model in the highly competitive Chinese market.”

Mercedes Long Wheelbase CLA

Just a month ago, Mercedes introduced a new battery-electric sedan in Europe that goes by the rather clunky name of Mercedes CLA with EQ technology. The most important aspect of that announcement is that the car is built on the latest MMA platform, which uses 800 volt technology for faster charging. In Shanghai, Mercedes introduced a long wheelbase version of that car design to appeal to the tastes of Chinese customers.

The Chinese variant has a wheelbase that is exactly 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) longer than the standard car. If you think this is a lot of work for a small gain, you’re right, but the fact that Mercedes was willing to invest the time and effort for a China-specific model shows just how important the Chinese market is to it. The car will be available with two battery packs and is expected to have a range of 886 km (550 mi) with the larger 85 kWh battery.

Nissan To Invest $1.4 Billion In China

While this story was being written, another press release came clattering into the teletype machines in the CleanTechnica communications center located in the third sub-basement. It said Nissan has committed 10 billion Yuan ($1.4 billion) to its Chinese operation. The company said it sees China as the ideal market in which to develop EVs. In Shanghai, it unveiled its electric N7 sedan and the Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid pickup truck.

The investment will be made by the end of 2026, and will help the company develop 10 new cars in China, all of which will be intended for export. Stephen Ma, head of Nissan’s Chinese operations, told a press conference: “With China moving so fast, we want to stay and we want to compete […] We can successfully thrive and compete here and so China has become a very good market for us to pilot many things.”

The N7 is built in partnership with Dongfeng, which is supplying much of the technology. The N7 platform is based on the Dongfeng 007 while the interiors and body design are both by Nissan. The N7 comes in two configurations — one with a 58 kWh battery and a range of 510 km (317 mi) and the other with a 73 kWh battery and a range of 635 km (395 mi). Both models use LFP batteries that support fast charging, as well as semi-automated driver assistance. The cars are priced between 160,000 and 180,000 Yuan ($22,000 to $25,000). Sales are expected to begin in China later this month.

The five-passenger plug-in hybrid pickup truck features a 1.5 liter engine and a transmission-mounted electric motor with a total of 300 kW (400 hp) of power. Nissan says it is designed specifically for the Chinese domestic market and can provide up to 135 km (85 mi) of battery-only range. Nissan states it also supports V2L technology as well as AWD. It is set to go on sale before the end of 2025, and will eventually be exported to other countries. Its most direct competition will be the BYD Shark, which is already on sale in China and many world markets.

The Takeaway From Shanghai

The frenzy of new model introductions in Shanghai this week shows how far and how fast the center of gravity in the car industry has shifted from Detroit and Germany to China. Zachary Shahan wrote about three new EV models from Volkswagen for the Chinese market earlier. Tariffs won’t do anything to stop that trend, they will only deny Americans access to the best cars at the best prices and make America more irrelevant than ever. If you want to know where the action in the auto industry is today, it’s in China, and the Chinese have no intention of slowing down.