5 of the Coolest Chinese Cars From the 2026 Paris Motor Show

If you only pay attention to the Chinese cars people buy in bulk in places like Europe and Australia, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they’re all slightly the same: electrified family crossovers that are forward-thinking but mostly very pragmatic. Look a little harder, though, and you’ll find plenty of Chinese cars that are as fun and interesting as they are practical and advanced.

The reduced-tariff deal that will let 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada every year means automakers have to be selective about which models to bring. In other words, they have to make it count – these cars have to sell. So, at least at first, it’s unlikely these more aspirational and compelling Chinese cars will make it to our shores. Over the longer term, though? Don’t count them out.

Here are five of the coolest Chinese cars from the 2026 Paris Motor Show, where they had a huge presence and were showing off some of their best.

Denza Z

You’ve probably heard of BYD by now; it’s China’s biggest automaker and, believe it or not, the world’s biggest EV brand. But you may not know Denza, its in-house luxury arm, which builds the Z, an electric supercar that boasts hypercar numbers.

Available in standard Coupe, convertible Spider, and edgier Racing forms, the Z uses three electric motors to make 1,580 horsepower, get from zero to 100 km/h in as little as 1.96 seconds, and reach a top speed of 300 km/h. The Racing model can go 350 km/h. Braking is done with carbon ceramics, non-Racing models ride on air suspension (the Racing version gets coils), and BYD’s second-generation 76-kWh Blade battery is good for up to 409 km of range. This battery can charge from 10 to 97 per cent in just nine minutes when using its parent company’s Flash Charging technology.

The Z’s most convincing piece of exotic car cred, however, may just be the fact that former movie superspy and global Denza ambassador Daniel Craig can be seen in one of the infotainment system’s wallpaper options.

Forthing V9 Camping Edition

Forthing is a mainstream subbrand of Dongfeng, which has started the homologation and regulatory approval process to sell a handful of cars in Canada. Forthing makes a huge, Asian-style passenger van called the V9, which can be had from the factory in a special Camping Edition.

This adds a pop-up roof camper and rear seats that folds down to create a bed. It also has window pouches that double as curtains and storage, multiple pillows to get comfy, and a projector screen that rolls down from the roof. The V9 Camping is a plug-in hybrid with a 34.9-kWh battery good for 160 km of electric driving range on the European WLTP cycle. Naturally, a vehicle-to-load system lets you use the car as a generator, and it comes with an interior console table with a hot plate to keep your tea kettle warm.

For now, the newly reduced tariff only applies to full electric cars, but Dongfeng says it is looking into certifying its similarly sized, plug-in hybrid Voyah Dream van for Canadian consumption. Throw in the V9 Camping’s RV-like features to that and campsite movie nights may never be the same.

Geely Project KO11 / Galaxy Cruiser 700

Behind BYD as China’s second-biggest automaker is Geely, which capped off its Paris Motor Show press conference with the Project KO11, an off-road SUV that those in the know will recognize as the Galaxy Cruiser 700 in China.

On the surface, the 700 may look like a fairly run-of-the-mill SUV made to defend against the Toyota 4Runners of the world, but it has (in its existing Chinese spec, at least) a couple of unique tricks up its sleeve. It’s a plug-in hybrid that uses the Horse B20, a 2.0L four-cylinder gas engine made by the Geely-Renault joint venture Horse, which can run while completely submerged in water at depths up to 1.1 metres. It also features tiny propellers where exhaust tips would typically be, letting it crawl in water at speeds up to 7 km/h, and sonar sensors up front that keep it from hitting things. This function is billed as a last-resort contingency rather than true amphibious ability, though, because it can only “swim” for up to 40 minutes or float stationary for two hours.

Whether all the water capabilities will make it to the upcoming European version remains to be seen, but the Geely Project KO11 is coming to that continent at the end of 2027 under a yet-to-be-determined name, so “Project KO11” is a placeholder. In case you missed it, Geely recently announced plans to enter the Canadian market. The KO11 may be cool, but don’t expect it to land here any time soon given its plug-in powertrain and niche appeal.

Zeekr 9X

As for a Geely-made SUV that’s extra while staying dry and on the road, the Zeekr 9X ticks a whole lot of luxury boxes. It’s basically (one of) China’s answers to vehicles like the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga.

A plug-in hybrid powertrain makes 897 total horsepower, but the six-seat 9X is another one of those cars where the appeal isn’t so much in the driving; it’s the interior. Dual 16-inch OLED screens span the dash, 32 speakers from Naim (the same brand that supplies speakers to Bentley) pump out 3,868 watts, there are somehow 16.8 million ambient lighting colours to choose from, there’s a little fridge in the second row perfectly sized for champagne bottles, and middle-row seats are VIP thrones with deployable ottomans and tray tables/desks.

You already know the formula – it’s really big, really comfortable, really fancy, really capable, and by Chinese car standards, really expensive. In France, it costs the Euro-equivalent of about $190,000 CAD. This is significantly less than what you’d pay for an actual Bentayga or Cullinan, but are the 1 per centers of Canada ready for a Chinese car that costs $200k? Maybe not immediately, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time.

BYD Dolphin Surf

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, tiny cars don’t really sell well in Canada, despite our collective gripes about affordability. Subcompacts like the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Mazda2, Nissan Micra, and Ford Fiesta are no longer sold here, so among the electric BYDs that might come to Canada early on, the microscopic Dolphin Surf is among the least likely.

It’s a shame because I quite like the Surf. Beyond its delightful name, it’s also one of the more interestingly styled cars of this ilk. Similar vehicles from Europe often lean on retro designs to stand out, but for obvious reasons, Chinese car brands like BYD, which only started making cars in 2003, can’t really do this. Nevertheless, the Dolphin Surf manages to look sharp and fun, and it has a 10.1-inch touchscreen that physically rotates between portrait and landscape.

With a 507 km driving range, it charges from 30 to 80 per cent in 22 minutes and earned a five-star safety rating from the Euro NCAP. For the record, similar European-market city cars from Toyota, Hyundai, and Nissan only managed to get four stars, in case you were still under the mostly outdated impression that Chinese cars aren’t safe. As lovable as the BYD Dolphin Surf is, don’t expect this one to show up in Canada on day one. Day 1,013, though? Maybe.