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the 2025 shanghai auto show is mired in a dispute over organizers.

on september 9, the automotive industry branch of the china council for the promotion of international trade (hereinafter referred to as: china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch) issued an explanatory letter through the wechat public account of "shanghai international automobile exhibition" stating that it had recently filed a lawsuit against the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade (hereinafter referred to as: shanghai ccpit) and shanghai international exhibition (group) co., ltd. with the judicial authorities. the relevant matters are awaiting a ruling from the judicial authorities. the cause was a series of unilateral decisions and actions of the shanghai ccpit and other units.

according to a statement released by the china council for the promotion of international trade's automotive branch on august 27, the press conference for the 2025 shanghai auto show (i.e. the 2025 shanghai international automobile industry exhibition) held on the same day was unilaterally organized by the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and other units, and unilaterally changed the existing organizing unit structure of the shanghai auto show.

previously, the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade announced that the 2025 shanghai auto show will be held at the national exhibition and convention center (shanghai) from april 25 to may 2, 2025. the 2025 global automotive leaders closed-door summit will be held on april 22, with an estimated exhibition area of ​​360,000 square meters.

official list of organizers: "three missing one"

according to shanghai press and shanghai council for the promotion of international trade on august 27, the 2025 shanghai auto show will be held at the national exhibition and convention center (shanghai) from april 25 to may 2, 2025, with the theme of "embrace innovation, win-win future". the 2025 global automotive leaders closed-door summit will be held on april 22. as chinese cars are better positioned on the world stage, the shanghai auto show, which has gone through 40 years, will be renewed and set off again as a world-class auto show.

the 2025 shanghai auto show is expected to have an exhibition area of ​​360,000 square meters. in terms of the exhibition schedule, april 23 and 24 are media days, which only receive domestic and foreign news media; april 25 to 26 are professional audience days, and april 27 to may 2 are public days.

according to the list of organizers listed in the notice, the 2025 shanghai auto show is hosted by the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and the china association of automobile manufacturers, organized by shanghai international exhibition (group) co., ltd. and shanghai auto show management co., ltd., and co-organized by the german messe münchen group. the special supporting unit is the china machinery industry federation, and the supporting unit is the china society of automotive engineers.

the reporter noticed that compared with previous years, the list of organizers of the 2025 shanghai auto show lacks the china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch, and only includes the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and the china association of automobile manufacturers. the organizers of the 2023 shanghai auto show and the 2021 shanghai auto show are the china association of automobile manufacturers, the china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch, and the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade.

figure: list of organizers of the 2023 shanghai auto show and the 2021 shanghai auto show

the parties have filed a lawsuit

the list of organizers was missing three items, which triggered a protest from the automobile branch of the china council for the promotion of international trade.

on august 27, the automotive branch of the china council for the promotion of international trade issued a "statement on matters related to the 2025 shanghai international automobile industry exhibition", stating that the 2025 shanghai auto show press conference on that day was unilaterally organized by the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and other units. the content released did not seek the opinion of the automotive branch of the china council for the promotion of international trade, and unilaterally changed the existing organizing unit structure of the shanghai auto show.

the statement mentioned that in 2002, ccpit shanghai and shanghai international exhibition co., ltd. (now known as shanghai international exhibition (group) co., ltd.) signed a cooperation agreement with ccpit auto branch to jointly organize the shanghai auto show every odd year, and the agreement is still valid. starting from the 2003 shanghai auto show, ccpit auto branch became one of the organizers of the shanghai auto show. in the following 20 years, ccpit auto branch made full use of its own resource advantages and exhibition experience, and worked with the main organizers to cultivate the shanghai auto show into a top international auto show with extensive influence today. the brand of the shanghai auto show is jointly created and owned by the organizers.

"regarding this shanghai press conference and related matters, i am reporting to the relevant departments. i will continue to carry out the relevant organizational work for the 2025 shanghai auto show and continue to communicate and consult with relevant units in order to get the organization of the 2025 shanghai auto show back on track." the china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch said in a statement on august 27.

however, the china council for the promotion of international trade's automobile branch clearly mentioned "prosecution has been filed" in its statement on september 9, which shows that the communication and consultation during this period were not ideal.

on september 9, the china council for the promotion of international trade (ccpit) automotive branch issued a "letter of explanation to automotive enterprises and industry-related units", stating that recently, a series of unilateral decisions and actions by the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and other units have brought impacts and turbulence to the organization of the 2025 shanghai auto show, resulting in various uncertain legal and commercial risks for the 2025 shanghai auto show. while continuing to report to the competent authorities and communicate with shanghai, the china council for the promotion of international trade (ccpit) automotive branch has recently filed a lawsuit against shanghai with the judicial authorities, and the relevant matters are awaiting the decision of the judicial authorities.

the explanatory letter also mentioned that according to the relevant regulations of the relevant departments on exhibition management, the 2025 shanghai auto show is an exhibition activity that needs to handle exhibition information registration and filing, and is not within the scope of government administrative approval. the 2025 shanghai auto show only has a registration and filing unit, and there is no "shanghai auto show approval unit". the unilateral filing behavior of the shanghai council for the promotion of international trade and other units is a breach of contract and does not affect the right of the china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch to continue to serve as the organizer. the china council for the promotion of international trade automotive branch has explained the situation to the filing unit in accordance with the law and applied for changes to improve the organizer of the 2025 shanghai auto show.

founded in 1985, the shanghai auto show is the largest auto show in asia. it is held every two years and has become a weather vane and barometer of the chinese auto market.

the last shanghai auto show was held at the national exhibition and convention center (shanghai) from april 18 to 27, 2023. it was the first international class a auto show after china's epidemic prevention and control policies were optimized. the theme of this shanghai auto show was "embracing the new era of the automotive industry". more than 1,000 chinese and foreign companies participated in the exhibition, nearly 100 models were launched for the first time, and 906,000 visitors from home and abroad.

the shanghai auto show will usher in its 40th anniversary in 2025. it is understood that the auto show was originally a window for china to see the world, and now it has grown into a window for the world to see china, and its position in international auto shows is particularly important. the growth of the shanghai auto show is the growth of china's auto industry. it has promoted the popularization of auto culture, promoted auto consumption, and played a great role in promoting the development of china's auto industry.