China's auto market has rebounded smartly from the COVID-19 crash in recent months, especially for high-end cars, but questions about the durability of that recovery will hang over the Beijing autoshow, starting on Saturday.
Among the bright spots: the Chinese market's sharp bounce since April, strong demand for midsize to large luxury vehicles and a flood of interest - and investment - in electric vehicles. Much of the upturn is driven by sales of larger passenger cars by such makers as Daimler and BMW , boosted by new models, automakers' discounts and a broader economic recovery.
But the recent improvement reflects Chinese carmakers making earlier model launches as they could not wait for the usual hype from the delayed autoshow before going to market. That suggests a more limited upside to the current sales rise.