SHANGHAI — The Shanghai auto show is around the corner. But only a small number of global automakers have disclosed what they will exhibit at the event. 

Is it because they are unprepared for the Chinese market’s rapid shift toward electric vehicles or do they want to keep consumers waiting until the last minute?

Only six international brands have disclosed what they plan to show, signaling they aim to impress local audiences with new EV models. 

The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, an ultraluxury full-electric utility vehicle, will make its global debut at the Shanghai auto show, Mercedes-Benz said this week. 

The new electric EQE crossover, and the redesigned, long-wheel-base version of the GLC crossover, will also be revealed for the first time in China.

Two new models under the Toyota brand’s bZ series of EVs will be exhibited for the first time globally. 

The two EVs will be rolled out in the Chinese market next year, Toyota Motor Corp.’s China unit said this week, without providing further details. 

The bZ4X crossover and the bZ3 sedan, the first two models in the bZ series, have already gone on sale in China.

The LM, a new luxury flagship multi-purpose vehicle, will make its global debut, Toyota said this week.

The Polestar 4, the fourth product from Volvo Car Corp.’s performance EV brand, Polestar, will make its world premiere. 

Among Polestar’s first four models, the crossover is launching from r&d to mass production in record time, the company said this week. 

The Nissan brand’s new EV concept model, specifically designed for China, will debut at the Shanghai auto show, Nissan Motor Co. said last week. 

The Nissan Max-Out, an electric convertible concept, will also be exhibited. The Max-Out was first revealed in 2021 as a digital concept. 

Honda’s full electric-vehicle subbrand e:N will display prototypes of a second batch of products for the first time globally at the Shanghai show, Honda Motor Co.’s China unit said last month. 

The first two locally produced e:N models  — the e:NP1 and the e:NS1 — hit the Chinese market in the second quarter of 2022. Both are compact crossovers. 

Electrified vehicles are coming to dominate China’s new car and light-truck market, with many western brands losing ground.

In the first quarter, while new-vehicle retail sales in China dropped 13 percent to 4.26 million, deliveries of EVs and plug-in hybrids surged 22 percent to 1.31 million, the China Automobile Dealers Association said last week. 

The majority of the electrified vehicles were sold by Chinese brands.