Electric car factories, a new tourist attraction

TokyoInside a vast industrial building near Beijing, dozens of articulated robots dance in synchronized movements as they weld, paint, and assemble electric car bodies. A group of visitors watches, fascinated, from a glass walkway: they are not engineers or investors, but tourists. Like a technology theme park, the Xiaomi factory receives hundreds of visitors each week who want to see firsthand how the vehicles that will be in dealerships across the country in just a few weeks are manufactured.

In China, electric car factories have become a new economic and tourist attraction. Brands like NIO, BYD, and Xiaomi have opened their production plants to the public, transforming robotization and industrial innovation into a spectacle. The success of these visits reflects a new form of industrial marketing and reinforces the image of a technologically advanced China, confident in its ability to lead the electric vehicle revolution.

At the facilities, the effect is almost spectacular: not only because of the robots' mechanical choreography, but also because of the number of people who now want to see it live. The figures are striking. NIO welcomed more than 130,000 visitors in 2024, a figure that underscores how the EV (electric vehicle) industry has also become a tourism product; and visits to Xiaomi's factory in Beijing have reached such levels that the company has implemented a lottery system for tickets after episodes with thousands of applications in a single day.

This boom is not anecdotal: official records and agencies indicate that China is promoting industrial tourism as a new growth strategy, and that these visits combine technology exhibitions, guided tours, souvenir shops, and spaces designed for taking photos and selfies in front of the robotic arms. In places like NIO's plant in Hefei or Xiaomi's factory in Beijing, automated production lines have become genuine tourist attractions, with tours designed so that visitors not only observe but also experience the brand.

The trend of visiting factories has spread mainly thanks to social media: hashtags as "factory tours", "industrial tourism" either "super factory visited"They've gone viral, and young people and influencers They flood the platforms with videos filmed from the catwalks and close-ups of the robots in action, doing the work. The waiting lists are massive: "Tens of thousands of people show up at each open house. After waiting more than six months and applying more than ten times, I was finally selected," explained one user on the Chinese platform RedNote, an example of how the fascination with the making-of The industrial sector has captured popular interest.

Moreover, this phenomenon is reshaping how Chinese consumers engage with their manufacturing fabric. Visits function as a direct marketing tool: they introduce customers to the value chain, reinforce brand loyalty, and can cultivate early interest (also through experiences designed for children). Companies like Nio utilize the tour as a reward for active users of its app, while Xiaomi has had to manage a demand that far exceeds supply.

The economic impact of this phenomenon goes beyond the factory gates themselves. In the short term, the visits bring in direct income (tickets, merchandise stores, food trucks and local tourism services) and create opportunities for complementary businesses (travel agencies, restaurants, and transportation) that can boost regional economies. In the medium term, opening the factory to the public acts as a powerful marketing and customer loyalty tool: it allows brands to showcase their technological capabilities, turn customers into ambassadors, and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by building trust in quality and innovation.

Risky Marketing

For investors, these visible value chain experiences can be a positive sign of industrial maturity and scalability, elements that facilitate new projects and lines of financing. However, turning production into spectacle can conceal real risks: industrial safety issues, intellectual property protection and data management, as well as whitewashing labor tensions, while blurring the line between information and advertising.

While this phenomenon generates economic value and media attention, it also highlights the need to adapt regulatory frameworks, transparency protocols, and guarantees regarding safety and labor rights.