Slowing demand for electric vehicles, heightened trade tensions and questions about whether Western legacy automakers can interest Chinese consumers have been the talk of Beijing as executives from top global car marques descended on the capital for the Auto China show.

Volkswagen AG leads the charge for foreign brands, showcasing 44 models — half of them EVs — while Mercedes-Benz Group AG just unveiled its electric G-Class SUV and BMW AG will display one of its latest concept cars. The German carmakers are looking to win over customers in China, where their market share fell to its lowest in six years in the final quarter of 2023, though there has been a slight rebound in the first two months of this year.