Auto Shanghai 2023 concept cars: future mobility takes on bold new forms

Our pick of Auto Shanghai 2023 concept cars, as Lancia, Nissan, Citroën and Toyota brought their conceptual EV visions to the revitalised Chinese show

Citroen Autonomous Mobility Vision: Wander Cafe, among Auto Shanghai 2023 concept cars revealed
Citroen Autonomous Mobility Vision: Wander Cafe
(Image credit: Citroen)

While the industry and media spotlight on Auto Shanghai 2023 and its key reveals made April a good time to launch a swathe of new production cars, the Chinese auto show was also host to several intriguing concepts. Our pick of the show ranges from far-future dreams to lightly disguised new production models.

Auto Shanghai 2023 concept cars


Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept

Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept

Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept

(Image credit: Lancia)

Lancia has languished in the doldrums for years – decades, even. Now part of Stellantis, the ailing Italian company hopes to break out of its design funk with this dramatic new concept car. The Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept draws its key inspiration from the Stratos, the wedge-shaped Bertone-designed rally car from 1971 that still looks futuristic today.

Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept

Lancia Pu+ra HPE concept interior

(Image credit: Lancia)

This new vision shares some of that razor-sharp 1970s optimism, an assemblage of geometric forms that’s intended to signpost the way for new electric models, including a new compact Ypsilon and Delta mid-size model. If Lancia can bottle just a fraction of the vivacious spirit of its past, as celebrated in the Pu+Ra’s airy retro-futurist forms, it’ll have a chance to rise again. 

Lancia.com

Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision

Citroen Autonomous Mobility Vision: Immersive Air

Citroen Autonomous Mobility Vision: Immersive Air

(Image credit: Citroen)

Citroën’s Autonomous Mobility Vision is built on a modular platform, the Citroën Skate, an autonomous electric module that can be decked out with an interchangeable set of ‘pods’, ranging from personal transportation units to stores and entertainment venues. Three new visions were created specifically for China and shown in Shanghai. Future cities buzzing with mobile venues is a popular vision, but the more practical applications of a system like the Skate is for cargo carrying and deliveries – the alternative has the potential to become another form of tourist rickshaw, hardly the most welcome vehicle in any urban environment. 

Citroen Skate platform

Citroën’s Skate platform

(Image credit: Citroen)

That said, the Immersive Air, Cozy Capsule and Wander Café shown here are undeniably more exciting than a courier van. The first is a kind of mobile karaoke booth or spot for meetings on the move. The Cozy Capsule is an upscale taxi module, while the Wander Café offers ‘tasting experience while cruising through cityscapes’, complete with Bird’s Nest Stadium-inspired canopy.  

Citroen.com

Nissan Max-Out and Arizon Concepts

Nissan Max-Out Concept

Nissan Max-Out Concept

(Image credit: Nissan)

Nissan’s conceptual duo were chalk and cheese. The Max-Out EV convertible sports car concept is a stunning vision of a future electric roadster, awash with neat design touches, a fluid one-piece body that offers an alternative to the long-bonnet proportions of a ‘traditional’ sports car. Touches like the parabolic hologram wheels are pure theatre.

Nissan Max-Out Concept

Nissan Max-Out Concept interior

(Image credit: Nissan)

Nissan Arizon Concept

Nissan Arizon Concept

(Image credit: Nissan)

In contrast the Arizon SUV was rather more conventionally shaped. Previewing a future SUV for the Chinese market, the Arizon incorporates a virtual personal assistant (VPA), Eporo, as well as a spacious cabin accessed via clamshell-style doors. Expect VPAs to become a core part of future automotive offerings, as manufacturers seek to imbue EVs with a distinct personality. 

Nissan Arizon Concept

Nissan Arizon Concept interior

(Image credit: Nissan)

Nissan-Global.com

Toyota bZ Sport Crossover and bZ FlexSpace Concepts

Toyota bZ Sport Crossover Concept

Toyota bZ Sport Crossover Concept 

(Image credit: Toyota)

Toyota also debuted two new concepts, both of which had a whiff of realism about them. The bz Sport Crossover Concept looks like a natural evolution of the company’s bZ4X EV, while the bZ FlexSpace Concept simply takes the design language established by Toyota’s debut EV and upscales it. The result is, finally, a readymade family of tasteful electric vehicles from the world’s second largest car manufacturer.

Toyota bZ FlexSpace Concept

Toyota bZ FlexSpace Concept 

(Image credit: Toyota)

Global.Toyota

TOPICS

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.

Read more
SHM Afeela 1 electric sedan
CES 2025: the mobility edit. The wheeled and wonderful machines from this year’s show
Nissan Caravan DISASTER SUPPORT SPEC
Tokyo Auto Salon 2025: custom cars and one-off creations from the Japanese home market
Classic Citroën DS on display at Rétromobile
Rétromobile revisits some of the icons of car design, along with their modern descendants
Peugeot 504 Pikes Peak
The 504 Pikes Peak is Peugeot Design Lab’s radical reinvention of the classic family wagon
The new XPeng G6
We explore the world of XPeng, a Chinese brand challenging for market domination in the UK
AC Future AI-THt model
AC Future and Pininfarina’s RV concepts create the ultimate in mobile living at CES 2025
Latest in Transportation
Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
Aston Martin looks set to make a bigger splash with its new Vanquish Volante
Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre
Pure electric power in a velvet glove: meet the new Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre
smart #5 Summit Edition
The mash-up between Mercedes and Geely continues with the multi-functional smart #5
BMW X3 M50
Pretty on the inside: the BMW X3 M50 is a characterful but confrontational SUV
The BMW Art Cars in front of BMW Tower in Munich
BMW celebrates half a century of its pioneering Art Car project with exhibitions and more
InOui TGV by AREP and Nendo
Nendo teams up with AREP to transform the interiors of France’s TGV
Latest in News
the lavery london restaurant review
At The Lavery, Anglo-Italian cooking caters to London’s design obsessive
perfume bottle archive Cristalleries de Nancy
This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance history
AMR-C01-R from Curv Racing Simulators
Curv teams up with a British sports car brand to create the ultimate luxury racing simulator
frida kahlo
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next year
vases PAD Paris
At PAD Paris, Omar Chakil’s new alabaster works for Galerie Gastou fuses Egyptian heritage and contemporary design
Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
Aston Martin looks set to make a bigger splash with its new Vanquish Volante