PMM was fortunate enough to be taken along to China by the team behind Automechanika to attend the Shanghai 2025 event.
One thing which came up time and again at Automechanika Shanghai was how much the fair had grown from its “humble” beginnings 20 years ago, to become the behemoth it is today. The show, which took place last November, saw a record 253,691 visitors walk through the doors at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre, one of whom was PMM editor Kieran Nee.
But the show isn’t just creeping up in numbers each year. No, this year saw a 14 per cent growth on last year’s event. When you’re talking about a show this size that is an unthinkable growth. But this is China, and “unthinkable growth” isn’t in the dictionary. That is to say, there isn’t a character for it.
Automechanika Shanghai is a little bit different from its German and British counterparts in that it caters to the automotive sector more widely, even managing to lure Tesla in to baffle and amuse visitors with its cyber truck. And the innovations on display throughout the halls extended beyond what you might normally expect to include humanoid robots (did you know carmakers are the primary drivers behind AI-driven humanoid robots? It turns out that when it comes to working in a car assembly plant to agile and supple nature of a human body is just what’s needed – without the bothersome issue of food and warmth) and automated spraying capsules among other things. What interested me, however, were some of the different ways things are done at garage-level in China compared to Europe, as well as some of the new innovations being embraced firstly by the Chinese aftermarket before hitting our shores.
Among the many Chinese manufacturers displaying their wares were some brands more familiar to UK visitors, offering technical solutions. Febi, Bosch and Mahle were there exhibiting a range of products including thermal management systems for EVs and battery replacement solutions. A clear sign that Chinese garages are embracing the world of battery-powered vehicles more readily than their UK counterparts.
New for 2026
Coming to the UK this year will be the new automatic ADAS calibration tool from Launch, which was on display on their stand at Automechanika Shanghai. Launch showed us around the new tool, which aims to simplify calibration and open it up to a wider range of garages and technicians. This comes at a time when the lack of ADAS-qualified techs out there is starting to show now that the technology is being installed in new cars as standard.
Four high-resolution cameras and four high-precision motors work together to automatically find and track targets. A big bonus for this tool is that it can complete both ADAS and wheel alignment with one single unit, the representative from Launch tells me will be a big draw for garages. Also on display at the Launch stand was a range of diagnostic equipment for EV batteries. Working on EV batteries is something that is now common among Chinese independent garages.
Michael Johannes, vice president of Automechanika, spoke to the assembled English-speaking press about the show, how far it’s come and what it’s trying to achieve: “We have a record-breaking number of exhibitors here at Shanghai this year. But we can’t take it for granted that the name of Automechanika will always be in such good shape. We are working closely with the industry and doing our utmost to continue getting the latest information and insights from the industry.
“The automotive industry is undergoing a huge transformation at the moment and across the world, the industry is moving at different speeds. In China, it’s rather fast, then there are others which are a bit slower. However, coming to a show like this, you can see just how much is out there and it’s really amazing to see what some companies here are doing. It will have an impact far beyond China.”
It wasn’t simply a one-way conversation with the press, however. We were asked what we would like to see more of in future and the answer was resounding: technical seminars. Not for our benefit, of course, but for the technicians of the future. Such a suggestion at Automechanika a few years ago would have been out of place, with the show’s traditional emphasis on buying and distribution rather than connecting with the garage technician. But as the shows grow in size there is scope for filling the widening skills gap. In fact there was an area for technical skills training, but it’s clear that for a show as vast as this, upskilling visitors is just one part of their remit.
