Shanghai Show Shifts Focus From Skin to Sheetmetal

Human models have been banned from adorning the new-model cars at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in April.

The government-owned China Daily newspaper reports organizers made the decision after seeking opinions from exhibitors.

“Companies should focus on product quality and technology,” the organizers say in announcing the new rule for the April 22-29 event.

“Auto shows are supposed to give audiences an enjoyment of art. We hope exhibitors promote their products in a healthy and classy way. Activities with low taste and those that violate social morality are prohibited.”

The Shanghai auto show, begun in 1985 and China's oldest international automobile exhibition, has become legendary for its legions of revealing models as automakers compete for consumers’ attention.

But Beijing’s Capital Ethics Development Office complained on its website that the revealing clothing of some models at the 2012 Beijing auto show has had a “negative social impact.”

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group chief spokesman Yang Xueliang says if models are banned in Shanghai, auto shows in other cities also should stop using models.

“It’s also better to cancel the performances of celebrities,” he writes on his microblog. “Give a pure automobile show back to customers.”

The China Daily reports models will be featured at auto shows in other cities including Shenyang, which has banned models from wearing clothing deemed too skimpy. The newspaper did not say whether organizers of the Ningbo show will enact a dress code.

Dang Jiani, 25, a veteran model from Beijing, tells the newspaper the models don’t decide which costumes they wear for the shows.

“If automakers provide dresses that are too scanty, we make minor changes to make them not so revealing,” she says. “Models wearing inappropriate dresses would ruin the product’s image. Automakers wouldn't want to see that.”

But, Dang adds: “Models have become an integral part of auto fairs in recent years. They are a part of the automobile culture.”

The 2013 Shanghai show attracted 2,000 Chinese and foreign exhibitors from 18 countries. Some 1,300 vehicles were on display, including 69 concept cars and 91 new-energy vehicles, while 111 new models had their world debuts at the event.

In addition to 813,000 visitors, the show attracted 10,493 journalists from more than 2,700 domestic and foreign news media organizations.