Cars exhibited at the Shanghai auto show on Monday Photo: IC

The Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (the Shanghai auto show) kicked off on Monday and will run until April 29.

Nearly 2,000 auto firms from 18 countries and regions are attending the auto show this year, according to information on the event's official website.

The Shanghai auto show, a biennial event, started in 1985.

This year, a total of 1,343 different models of cars are displayed at the show, with 109 making their global debut and 44 units making their first appearance in Asia. 

As the government has spent a lot of effort to promote greener cars to cut emissions, new-energy cars are a highlight of this year's Shanghai show, with 103 models of new-energy cars being displayed at the event this year.  

For instance, domestic electric-car producer BYD Co will unveil two plug-in hybrid SUV models "Song" and "Yuan" at the Shanghai auto show and the two models are expected to hit the market later this year.

US premium electric car producer Tesla will also attend the Shanghai event, the first time the company is attending an auto show in China.

SUVs are at the center of attention at the Shanghai auto show, as the segment is growing much faster than the overall auto market.

Major carmakers such as Honda, Mazda and Mercedes-Benz will all bring their new SUV models to the auto show this year.

One interesting aspect about the Shanghai event this year is that there are no female models.

The news has captured a lot of the public's attention since female models were considered an integral part of auto shows.

But some commentators noted that this could turn people's attention back to cars since there have been instances when female models have worn very skimpy outfits at past auto shows, taking the spotlight away from the actual cars.

With no female models and fewer celebrities, the Shanghai auto show is much less crowded than the Beijing auto show of the previous year.

In addition, due to safety concerns, children are not allowed to visit the Shanghai auto show this year.