(Yicai Global) April 17 -- The biennial Shanghai Auto Show will kick off tomorrow, but Tesla and Evergrande, two electric vehicle startups that were major attractions last time round, will be absent.

A relevant person in charge of Tesla said, “Tesla does not classify itself as a car company.” Artificial intelligence, energy and other fields are also the focus of the American giant, according to the Chengdu Economic Daily online.

At the third China International Consumer Goods Expo held in Haikou, Hainan province, from April 10 to 15, Tesla showcased its new models, a new charging station CyberVault, androids, and its energy ecological closed loops.

It may be recalled that at the 2021 edition of the Shanghai Auto Show, a car owner stood on the hood of one of Tesla’s exhibits, shouting “Tesla’s brakes fail” and drawing widespread attention. Since then, Tesla has not attended any motor show in China.

Hengchi Auto, which exhibited nine new models at the last Shanghai Auto Show, will also be absent this time. According to its announcement, so far the Shenzhen-based company has sold only 900 units of its only product, the Hengchi 5.

This is far less than the goal of “selling more than 1 million vehicles by 2025” as stated by Hui Ka Yan, chairman of Evergrande Group. The model even faces the risk of a production stop.

Meanwhile, Enovate Motors issued a notice at the beginning of this month that due to the impact of the Zhejiang-based firm’s capital situation and its production and sales plan, from April 1, 2023, some positions in the company will be suspended and closed.

In addition, other EV startups such as Aiways Automobiles, WM Motor, and Yudo Auto are all short of funds amid increasingly fierce market competition and chose to be absent from the show.

Editor: Peter Thomas