Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH

Chengdu, 23 May 2024. The Chengdu International Trade Fair for Automotive Parts and Aftermarket Services (CAPAS) concluded on 18 May 2024 at the Chengdu Century City New International Exhibition and Convention Center. Serving as a platform for business exchange, trade investment, and collaboration between industry and education in Southwest China, the event’s 10^th edition set new records in terms of exhibitor numbers and visitor count, representing an increase of 11 and 22 percent from the last edition respectively. Key trends highlighted at the exhibition included green development, new energy and connected mobility, talent nurturing and international cooperation.

Key figures from CAPAS 2024:

• Visitors: 20,853 (22 percent increase from the 2023 edition)
• Exhibitors: 690 (11 percent increase from the 2023 edition)
• Exhibition space: 50,000 sqm
• 20 concurrent events
• Online live-streaming visits: 70 million views

Mr James Yu, General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd, stated: “Over the past decade, CAPAS has built up a strong foundation in the industry. This year’s exhibition was highly successful in showcasing emerging market trends, as well as driving international supply chain partnerships and consumer engagement in the region. CAPAS has steadily broadened its scope and role in line with the development of the automotive industry. This year, the show introduced a new initiative aimed at integrating industry and education to support talent development within the sector. These efforts have greatly advanced industry-education collaboration within the field.”

China’s new energy vehicle sector is experiencing rapid growth, with the country’s Southwest region emerging as a key hub for new energy vehicle development and connected mobility. To leverage the combined strengths of the region, CAPAS 2024 featured dedicated pavilions from Chongqing and 15 other municipal regions in Sichuan province, including Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, and Ziyang. Within these pavilions, exhibitors showcased innovations in vehicle manufacturing, connected mobility and new energy vehicles from their respective local automotive industries.

For example, Yibin, a key manufacturing centre for batteries, organised a pavilion of 20 exhibitors to present a variety of electric and intelligent technology products. KAIYI AUTO showcased their SUV i-HD model developed on their i-FA platform. Alongside them, Yirui Automobile, part of the CHERY, featured a range of sanitation vehicles, including new energy and hydrogen sweepers along with self-driving electric sweepers. Adding to this, Sichuan new Energy Vehicle Innovation Center introduced four new solid-state battery products.

Meanwhile, the Nanchong pavilion gathered 27 key companies, including GEELY and Dongjia New Energy, to present the latest advancements in new energy vehicle manufacturing and key components, aiming to establish Nanchong as a hub for components manufacturing in China. Among the exhibits was GEELY’s Farizon V7E electric van, which offers a range of 305 km to meet the needs of logistics operations. Elsewhere, Ziyang, a pilot city for development in the hydrogen industry, featured HYUNDAI TRUCKN&BUS’s MIGHTY fuel cell trucks at its pavilion, engineered to improve transportation efficiency and promote sustainable development.

The 2024 event catered to the specific needs of the region’s automotive aftermarket and welcomed exhibitors from around the globe, with notable highlights including BALANCE, Botny, CurveRobot, Evamo, FARET, Fras-le, Hangcheng, Henglong Group, Hoho, Hongguan, Ironstamp, Lihong, LPR, Lucas, Phoenixfilters, Shenghuabo, SHENYANG 245, Songtian Motor, TMD Friction, Tuopu, Venjong, and YIHONG.

Ms Killy Yao, IAM Sales Manager at LPR (Zhuhai) Auto Parts Ltd, remarked: “We were pleased to find that both the quantity and quality of visitors at our booths exceeded our expectations. In addition to distributors from the Southwest region, we also met many overseas buyers. The comprehensive range of product categories, fringe events and business matching services at CAPAS helped audiences to learn more about our products and find targeted partners.”

One overseas professional buyer, Mr Marco Estrada, CEO of Direcciones Hidráulicas “Marco”, offered his perspective: “With Mexico being China’s top vehicle export destination in Latin America, we’re excited that several Chinese new energy vehicle brands plan to establish local manufacturing operations within our country. This event allows us to not only source our targeted products, but also to explore the diverse range of offerings in the country’s new energy vehicle sector.”

Fringe events offer valuable industry insights
Throughout the three-day event, CAPAS presented an extensive programme of 20 fringe events aimed at energising the region’s automotive aftermarket and providing valuable insights to attendees. Industry experts, association representatives and business leaders gathered to discuss changes in the aftermarket, new energy and connected mobility, supply chains and the skills gap.

Activities at the New Energy Vehicle Industry-Education Integration Zone 
Talent development is essential for promoting innovation across China, and is an increasingly pressing priority in the automotive sector, where needs have grown for skilled workers in research, manufacturing, marketing and after-sales service. To address this, CAPAS 2024 introduced the New Energy Vehicle Industry-Education Integration Zone. Activities included the International Automotive Industry Education and Talent Development Conference, the New Energy Vehicle Diagnostics and Repair Skills Training, the National Automotive Service Skills Competition, the “UPPF Automotive Decoration” Cup Film Maker Competition Chengdu Station, the Automotive Talent Recruitment Seminar, new energy vehicle product showcases and more.

Ms Lili Xi, Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Department at Geely University of China, delivered a speech at the conference, remarking: “To keep pace with recent trends in automotive intelligence, connectivity and electrification, today’s students must be equipped with knowledge in areas ranging from electric vehicles to data analysis and more. We are grateful to CAPAS for providing a platform that allows us to directly connect with relevant companies, as this is important for tackling the skills gap in the market”.

Ms Xuan Zeng, a student at Chengdu Engineering Techniacl Vocational School, commented: “I learnt a lot from the New Energy Vehicle Diagnostics and Repair Skills Training. It was my first exposure to the brand, TBA’s repair technologies for Tesla vehicles, and the career talk by a lecturer at Chengdu Wantong Future Advanced Technical School gave me inspiration for my future career path.”

CAPAS also organised several livestreaming activities across the three-day show, which captured significant media interest. Through the wide broadcasting and reporting by local channels, these efforts offered the public a deeper understanding of how industry and education can be linked.

Car Customising Festival
Mr Ling Duan, Head of Sichuan Nanchong Zhergen Auto Shop, attended the Car Customising Festival at CAPAS and shared his thoughts on the experience: “Seeing one of the vehicles used in a film production was a definite highlight. At the festival, I established partnerships with several suppliers of custom vehicle wraps and colour wrap films. This experience gave me fresh inspiration for growing my business in the future, helped me stay on top of market trends and new product offerings, and share knowledge within our industry community.”

China Automotive Industry Supply Chain & New Energy Vehicle International Cooperation Conference 2024
CAPAS 2024 also hosted the inaugural China Automotive Industry Supply Chain & New Energy Vehicle International Cooperation Conference 2024, which highlighted sustainable practices and innovations and explored advancements in the global automotive industry. At the conference, experts analysed China’s new energy vehicle market, along with emerging supply chain developments and international partnerships in the sector.

Key topics and speakers included:

• Development of China’s New Energy Vehicle Market at Home and Abroad:

Ms Yan Ding, Senior Economist of The State Information Center

• Development Trends of the Supply Chain in the New Energy Vehicle Industry:

Mr Yonghe Huang, Senior Expert of China Automotive Technology & Research Center Co Ltd

• Opportunities and Challenges of Building a New Ecosystem of China’s Automotive Supply Chain under the New Development Pattern:

Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Embassy of Portugal in China
Representative of Polish Investment & Trade Agency China Representative
State of Bavaria China Office
Jetour, NETA Auto, Skyworth and more

The latest show updates and high-resolution photos for press use are available from the “Press” page at www.capas-chengdu.com.

The 11^th edition of CAPAS will take place from 22 to 24 May 2025. CAPAS is jointly organised by CCPIT-Auto, Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd and CCPIT-Sichuan. For more information, please visit www.capas-chengdu.com or email [email protected].