ROME, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Turin Auto Show opened Friday in Turin, Italy, featuring 132 new vehicle models and a range of activities including test drives and events focusing on automotive design. Several Chinese automakers received awards at the Torino Automotive Design Award (TADA) ceremony held the same day at the Teatro Regio.
Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Consul General in Milan Zhang Chenggang said China's auto industry has placed increasing emphasis on independent innovation, product quality and user experience.
Italy, he said, has extensive expertise in industrial design, brand culture and engineering research and development. The two countries have complementary strengths and many areas for further cooperation.
A total of 47 automotive brands and design institutions from China and other countries participated in this year's TADA. Chinese automakers including Chery, Geely, Great Wall Motor (GWM) and GAC received awards in various categories.
The TADA awards cover three categories -- city cars, family cars and premium cars -- with awards in each category for best exterior design, best interior design and best technological innovation.
GAC AION UT and Geely K011 won the Best Exterior Design awards in the city car and family car categories, respectively, while LEPAS L6 and GWM ORA 5 received the corresponding Best Interior Design awards. Geely Starray EM-i, Chery Tiggo 9 and GWM TANK 300 won the Best Technological Innovation awards in the three categories.
BYD's Yangwang U9 received the China Performance Car of the Year award, while Audi Concept C was named Global Concept Car of the Year. Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery Holding Group, was named Person of the Year.
Andrea Levy, president of the Turin Auto Show, told Xinhua that Chinese automakers are bringing new technologies to Italy and Europe and are gaining increasing recognition among local consumers.
Cooperation and exchanges between China and Europe in automotive design, technological innovation and the industrial sector will enable both sides to learn from each other and develop better vehicles, he said.
"Winning recognition in Turin, a globally renowned center of automotive design, is a great achievement for us," said Zhao Lichao, general manager of GWM Southeast Europe. He said GWM has adopted a long-term approach to the European market, taking local consumer needs into account in vehicle design, tuning, intelligent features and safety.
The Turin Automotive Design Award was launched in 2025 as a new feature of the Turin Auto Show. It aims to promote cooperation between the Chinese and European automotive industries through exchanges in automotive design.
