NIO

In China they are genuinely proud of what they are achieving with their automobile industry. Beyond its domestic market we have been living for years how they are transforming the sector with their new energy cars. So much so, that their factories even They have become a popular destination of school excursions. And just as share Since Baiguan, it is increasingly common for families to get up early, get in the car and drive dozens of kilometers to one of their manufacturing plants. The phenomenon has turned Xiaomi, NIO or Xpeng factories into aspirational destinations, with long waiting lists and even people reselling their place as if it were a concert. TOeducational entity with its own name. In China there is a popular term to describe the culture of how the middle class raises their children: ‘jī wá’, which can be loosely translated as “inflating the child.” This word sums up the collective pressure that many parents feel to turn every free hour into a useful, stimulating experience and, if possible, with a certificate at the end. Camps, piano lessons, private tutoring… and, for a few years now, visits to electric car assembly lines. As revealed a report by Yan Caijing signed by Mo Nai, this trend has ceased to be a curiosity and has become a mass phenomenon that combines education, marketing and some social theater. The new trendy school trip. Xiaomi was the first to understand it at scale. Since its founder Lei Jun announced in January 2024 that the Yizhuang plant in Beijing would open its doors to the public through a lottery, demand has not stopped growing. Just like account The medium, at one point, the acceptance rate fell to 0.4% per session, with barely 20 places available compared to thousands of applications. The resale of places did not take long to appear: according to account In the middle, on second-hand platforms up to 1,000 yuan were requested for a free place (about 124.62 euros at the exchange rate), without discounts or negotiation. According to published data, only in 2025 the Yizhuang factory received 130,000 visitors. NIO and Xpeng have also opened their facilities, with similar dynamics. And international brands such as BMW or Volkswagen have joined the trend from their plants in China. What the family sees when they enter. The standard tour follows a fairly established script: showroom with the latest models, walk through the production line, test drive and some manual activity, such as assembling a miniature model or building a small souvenir. Some factories even open their restaurant for visitors to eat there. In fact, the detail of eating there is an experience that can commonly be seen on the country’s social networks. Marketing. Although it may seem like a gesture of transparency or social responsibility on the part of the brands, there is a very intelligent marketing maneuver behind it, since it is an experience that costs them very little and they end up getting a lot of impact for it. That it has reached our ears and that we have written about it is the greatest proof of this. Additionally, seeing a car assembled piece by piece live creates an emotional connection that no television advertisement can match. According to they shared From Baiguan, some users on social networks acknowledged that the visit to the factory directly influenced their purchase decision. Other parents commented that they hope their children end up working in these types of companies. The visit can not only end up selling a car: it sows a brand identity that can take decades to mature. Visits to car factories are not new either. Many Spaniards have visited the SEAT in Martorell, to give an example that catches us more closely. In fact, as the media recalls, it was Citroën who, after the First World War, opened the doors of its factory to the public in France for the first time, turning the assembly line into a spectacle for the most curious. Its founder André Citroën understood before anyone else that showing how things are done is, in itself, an act of commercial seduction. What Xiaomi or NIO have done now is, in essence, the same idea applied with data, raffle algorithms and virality on social networks. And the State also plays. The phenomenon also has a political dimension. And just as share In the middle, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has promoted the creation of industrial tourism routes that integrate smart factories and industrial heritage into the country’s tourist circuits. In global terms, industrial tourism represents between 10 and 15% of total tourist income; in China, according to sector figures, it is still below 5%. Electric car factories, with their shiny aesthetics and robotic arms, are the perfect showcase for a narrative of technological modernity that the government is as interested in as the brands themselves. Cover image | Xiaomi and Xinhua In Xataka | It took Shenzhen 20 years to have a metro and another 20 to have the best in the world: China’s work that leaves the West behind