Now considered one of the world’s premier auto shows, the 2009 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (aka Shanghai Auto Show) was the scene of several world-debuts from Western automakers such as Porsche (Panamera) and BMW (X5 M).

Most new cars at the show however were from China’s growing domestic automobile manufacturers, including SAIC, Chery, and Great Wall. Geely alone unveiled more than 20 new models!

Lotus had a mostly quiet exhibit shared with Europestar, its brand created as part of a Chinese joint venture with Youngman Auto. Europestar chose the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show to unveil its newest model, the Europestar Savvy. Simply a rebadged Proton Savvy, the car has been available in Malaysia since 2005 and has never been remarkable but it may stand a chance when compared to some of the rather poor domestic competition. The Savvy joins the other rebadged Protons that compose Europestar’s lineup – the Europestar Lotus RCR (rebadged Proton Gen-2 hatchback) and Europestar Persona (rebadged Proton Gen-2 sedan). The Savvy employs a Renault-designed 1.2L four-cylinder while the rebadged Gen-2 sedan and hatchback pack a Lotus-designed 1.6L four-cylinder.

Also on display was the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel.