The 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition has opened its doors to the media on April 20. It is China’s biggest auto show this year. Auto Shanghai will be open to the public from April 22 to 29. This year’s theme is “Innovation for Upgrading”. The auto show is huge. The total display area at the Detroit Auto Show would fill just one of the eight exhibition halls at this year’s Auto Shanghai, the Shanghai Daily reports. The exhibition area covers 350,000 square meters, or nearly 100 football fields. “The market will increase less than in former years, but still much higher than in any other relevant automotive market in the world,” President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, Jochem Heizmann, said. Vehicle sales in China reached 23.49 million last year, well ahead of the United States, which it overtook in 2009. But annual sales growth halved to 6.9% last year from 13.9% in 2013, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The slowdown continued in the first three months of this year, when sales rose just 3.9%. Foreign car makers plan to unveil new models at the Shanghai show. Ford is introducing seven new vehicles in Shanghai, including two SUVs and the Taurus sedan, while Britain’s Rolls-Royce is unveiling the new Phantom Limelight. Italy’s Maserati hopes to maintain its China sales after more than doubling sales last year from 2013 to 9,400 vehicles.