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A Concept Car Burst Into Flames Right Before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show Opening

The 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show has been delayed more than a month, but the reboot on December 30, 2022, didn’t go as expected. A concept car burst into flames at IAT Automobile’s booth, and the Chinese authorities and the company scrambled to cover it up.
A concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show opening 7 photos
Photo: Lei Xing via Twitter
A concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show openingA concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show openingA concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show openingA concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show openingA concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show openingA concept car burst into flames right before the 2022 Guangzhou Motor Show opening
The Chinese auto industry is spinning faster than ever, reflecting the increased importance of the local market. Whereas many motor shows have been forced to close for good in the U.S. and Europe, the Chinese market is still bustling with new car models and concepts. In fact, many carmakers, be they from China or western countries, consider the Chinese market important enough to launch their global models at Chinese motor shows before showing them elsewhere.

The Guangzhou Motor Show is a yearly event, although not as important as the Shanghai or Beijing motor shows, which are alternating, biennial events. It usually takes place at the end of November, but in 2022, the show was postponed because of a resurgence of Covid infections in the country. The new start date was December 30, making the show more of a 2023 event than ever. It almost risked being ignored in the western world because of overlapping with the New Year’s holidays.

Nevertheless, the show’s start was marked by a high-profile fire guaranteed to make it newsworthy worldwide. A concept car burst into flames at the IAT Automobile booth right before the opening. This being China, show organizers and the company whose concept caught fire tried their best to cover it up, although their attempts only worsened things. Journalists at the scene managed to capture videos of the fire, but those caught taking pictures were forced to delete them. Thankfully, some survived to tell the story, as you can see in the Twitter post by Lei Xing below.

According to Chinese media, the concept was a small personal mobility vehicle with a rather bizarre shape. Pictures taken before the fire show paper parts hanging from the concept. There is no information about what caused the fire. Considering this is a design concept, we assume there were no batteries or fuel onboard. Images of the fire showed high flames and heavy smoke coming out of the car silhouette.

IAT Automobile says the fire started not on the concept but in the working area during the booth construction. The concept likely had fresh adhesive used to put the parts together, and it was ignited by the sparks from power tools used during the booth construction. Additional reports from the following day, when the motor show opened to visitors, claim there were noticeable water stains around the booth, and the smell of burning materials was still present.

IAT Automobile is an OEM contractor that provides complete services to car companies, from vehicle design and development to core components for the auto industry. Many Chinese companies commission IAT Automobile to design and engineer their vehicles, but its main customers are big carmakers like Toyota, Honda, Geely, XPeng, and NIO. The company was supposed to show two concept cars at the show, together with two intelligent digital car platforms.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
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After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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