The China Auto 2020 expo in Beijing finally opened on September 26, after a five-month delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The show is the only automotive event to be held in-person in the world this year, after similar events such as in Geneva were canceled. But visitors needed to wear face masks, have their body temperature checked and present health-document scans in a reminder that the Covid-19 pandemic still casts uncertainty over the auto industry.

Overall 785 vehicles are on display, 82 of which are making their debut. Fourteen of them are from multinational companies. New energy vehicles on display number 160. Among the companies with models making their debut is Audi, including the Audi Q5L Sportback, which is designed for Chinese consumers. Rolls-Royce unveiled its new Ghost Extended, following the car’s global launch earlier this month. Jaguar Land Rover’s New Discovery Sport P300e, a mid-sized luxury SUV, is making its China debut.

“The Chinese market has recovered faster than expected, and is the best of all markets,” Leon Li, Director of Rolls-Royce’s Greater China region, told the Global Times. He said the company’s UK factory resumed work in May,the first car manufacturer in the UK to do so, mainly due to the unexpected rising demand from China, its second largest market. “Our expectations for the year are much more optimistic than in February and March,” he said. Sales in China normally account for 20% to 25% of Jaguar’s global sales, but the figure jumped to 50% in March and April this year, Richard Shore, Jaguar Land Rover’s President of integrated marketing, sales and service in China, told the Global Times.

The Chinese market has become more critical for global partners in 2020, as China is the only of the world’s major auto markets clearly recovering. It has grown since April, after work resumed in March. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand achieved its””best second quarter ever in terms of unit sales” in China, where car sales increased by 21.6% year-on-year, the German carmaker said. In contrast to other regions where sales declined strongly due to the impact of Covid-19, sales in China went up and even grew by 35% for commercial vans during the period, according to Daimler. The development in China would show the “impressive speed at which demand is currently recovering in our largest market,” Britta Seeger, Member of the Boards of Management of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, said in a statement, the Global Times reports.

According to the China Daily, electric vehicles are a prominent feature of China Auto 2020. Honda’s SUV e-concept and Nissan’s Ariya crossover, both of which are the first electric model for the brands, are attracting visitors to their respective booths. Chinese startups are increasing their offerings. Nio is demonstrating its battery-swap service and autonomous driving system. WM, which has just finished a CNY10 billion financing round, announced prices of its six-seat EX6 Plus SUV. Meanwhile, Xpeng unveiled a flying car. The Taycan Turbo S, a flagship model of Porsche’s first electric sports car, is sharing a stage with the all-new Taycan at the auto show as well. The Taycan base model will be delivered to China in December this year, earlier than in any other market. Porsche delivered 39,603 vehicles in the first half of 2020 in China, which remains its largest single market.

The Shanghai Daily writes that China’s auto sales rose 11.6% in August from a year earlier, the fifth straight monthly rise after plunging during the lockdown. In February, sales collapsed by a record 79% to their lowest level since 2005. Executives at Germany’s BMW and Guangzhou-based GAC, which has partnerships with Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, forecast full year sales growth in China, while Chongqing Changan Automobile predicted the same for its local joint venture with Ford Motor Co. Great Wall Motor Co, China’s top pickup truck maker, aims to boost overseas sales this year. Germany’s Audi is in talks with long-term partner China FAW Group Corp about creating a second joint venture to build electric cars on its PPE platform in China.

China’s typically busy car-buying season, “Golden September, Silver October”, is off to a good start, according to preliminary data, with passenger car sales up 12% in the first 20 days of September. The rebound means this year’s sales will fall less than 10%, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) estimates, better than its May forecast of a 15% to 25% decline. Premium vehicles accounted for a record 15% of the Chinese market in August, up from around 10% for all of last year.