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THERE was a time, not long ago, when Chinese motor shows were almost a laughing stock. The halls would be filled with a mixture of underengineered vehicles from the local manufacturers and knock-offs trying desperately to look like premium products from Europe. Not any more. This week’s Beijing Motor Show feels as major as any of the other global showcases. It’s the locals who are making the big strides, too, mixing China’s huge muscle in the battery market with a lack of heritage and ‘legacy’ that gives them huge potential when it comes to building cars and selling them. After all, if you don’t have thousands of dealer contracts worldwide, you can afford to take a radical approach on how you engage with customers – or even if you sell…

• 70kWh-plus battery pack promises 249-mile range • Modular technology maximises flexibility of new SUV James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “A dual-motor all-wheeldrive iX3 could have total system power of 532bhp“ BMW has revealed the next step in its grand electrification strategy with the unveiling of the Concept iX3 at the Beijing Motor Show. It’s an all-electric X3 SUV that’s set to go live in 2020. The Concept iX3 arrives just as several premium manufacturers are gearing up to take on the Tesla Model X. Jaguar is first into the fight with the new I-Pace, while Audi will join in this summer with its e-tron. Mercedes will muscle in on the act, too, releasing an all-electric SUV called EQ C in 2019. The iX3 marks a significant shift in BMW’s electric car story.…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn “In an industry first, the sat-nav incorporates augmented reality for real-time map overlays” “Mercedes may apply the AMG treatment to the A-Class saloon as well as to the hatch” MERCEDES has thrown down a compact-class challenge to Audi in the shape of its first A-Class saloon. Unveiled at this week’s Beijing Motor Show, the rival to Audi’s A3 saloon will form part of a new eight-car compact range. It goes on sale in China in the long-wheelbase form pictured here before arriving in the UK in early 2019. This is the first time that Mercedes has launched a saloon version of the A-Class, now in its fourth generation. Huge growth in China, large conquest rates and a younger customer base have encouraged the German manufacturer to expand both…

“At launch, UK will get ES 300h hybrid, delivering 215bhp and claiming 60.1mpg” John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy LEXUS’S big star at this week’s Beijing Motor Show is the ES, which will arrive in British showrooms early next year as the replacement for the GS. The ES is actually a badge that’s been around for a while, but this seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class rival will be the first to make it into British dealerships. The design adopts several cues from Lexus’s recently updated flagship, the LS, with a pronounced ‘spindle grille’ at the front and shoulders that fall away sharply beyond the rear window line. Inside there’s a 12.3-inch infotainment display that can incorporate navigation, a further digital screen in the instrument binnacle and the latest version…

“Concept’s luxury intent is underlined by chrome lining near its flanks” MERCEDES has pulled the covers off a radical new Maybach concept at Beijing this week. The Vision-Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is an unusual, raised, three-box SUV design hiding a 740bhp all-electric, all-wheel-drive powertrain capable of a claimed 311-mile range. Top speed is limited to 155mph. Mercedes says the design takes cues from car culture in China, where saloons are riding high. Add SUVs’ global popularity and Maybach extravagance, and the Ultimate Luxury is the result. The nose is inspired by the Maybach 6 coupé and cabriolet design studies, applying the large pinstripe grille and slim LED headlight face into a taller, flatter front end. As on most Mercedes, the shoulder line arches from headlight to tail, and at the back…

IN an attempt to inject a new lease of life into the i20 supermini, Hyundai has launched an updated model. It’s on sale in June, and minor tweaks have been made to the front grille and tail-lamp clusters, but the big news is that the brand has dropped the 1.4-litre diesel from the line-up. That means engine options now comprise 99bhp or 118bhp versions of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo, plus the 74bhp or 94bhp naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol. A raft of new safety kit has also been introduced; lane departure warning and lane keep assist now feature as part of Hyundai’s SmartSense pack.…