We take a look at 10 Chinese cars which are copycats of popular models.
Chinese Copycat Cars
Yema B11 – BMW i3 – The i3 is a fully-electric hatchback from BMW’s i series. It is a good car for city usage and Chinese automaker Yema has copied it with the B11. The i3 is a good looking car but the B11 looks weird. Even the colour schemes have been copied. The B11 is available with either an electric motor or a hybrid powertrain.
Victory S10 – Cadillac Escalade – The Cadillac Escalade is a super popular SUV and it is preferred by affluent customers. It is huge in size, gets big wheels and the road presence is intimidating. The Chinese copied the Escalade with the Victory S10 and it looks very similar to the original model. While the Cadillac comes with high displacement engines, the clone gets a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine.
Ruili Doda V8 – Toyota Alphard – The Alphard is Toyota’s premium MPV and it is known for its luxury, space, features, and reliability. The Ruili Doda V8 copies the design of the Alphard. This car is manufactured by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. and while this car’s name has V8 in it, it actually doesn’t get a V8 engine. The Doda V8 is powered by a 2.4-litre engine making 165 horses.
K-One – Mercedes GLA – The GLA is Mercedes’ entry-level compact SUV and the K-One has copied most styling elements from the GLA. However, the K-One is smaller than the GLA in size even though both of them have a similar weight. While the GLA gets petrol and diesel engines, the K-One is an electric car. The electric motor makes around 128 HP.
Dadi Shuttle – Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – The Dadi Shuttle is an SUV which looks exactly like the old Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. It was offered with either a Mitsubishi 2.8-litre diesel engine or a Peugeot 2.0-litre diesel engine. The car was underpowered with none of the engines producing more than 150 HP. The quality of the car wasn’t that great but it came with features like dual-zone climate control and 4×4.
Dongfeng Hanma – Hummer H1 – The Hummer H1 is an iconic car and it was available in civilian and army versions, with the latter being called Humvee. The People’s Liberation Army in China acquired some civilian versions of the Hummer and stripped down the cars in their labs. Then, with reverse engineering, they developed the Hanma and launched it. Initially the car came with AM General parts but later Dongfeng used their own parts, except the engine which was produced under license from Cummins USA.
BAIC BJ80 – Mercedes G-Wagon – The BJ80 is a clone of the Mercedes G-Wagon. BAIC also showcased the BJ80 6×6 which imitates the G63 AMG 6×6. However, the BJ80 gets a 2.3-litre engine from SAAB that makes 250 horses unlike the high-powered AMG engine. The regular BJ80 comes with either a 2.4-litre, 4-cyl engine or a 4.0-litre, 6-cyl engine. It was displayed in 2014 and Daimler saw the design. Daimler then bought a 12% stake in BAIC and tried to discontinue the BJ80 but finally an agreement was reached and the car continued as the BJ80C.
Fengsheng Maple 30X – Tata Nexon – The Maple 30X is an electric compact SUV that is priced somewhere near Rs. 7.5 lakhs in China. The front of the Maple 30X looks quite similar to the Nexon. The grille, bonnet, and the dual tone colour theme are all reminiscent of the Nexon. From the side also, the design is very similar. The 30X gets an electric motor producing 94 HP and it has a range of 300 kms. Meanwhile, the Nexon recently got a facelift and it gets petrol and diesel engines and a fully-electric version too.
Huansu C60 Hyosow – Lamborghini Urus – The Lamborghini Urus is a super SUV that has futuristic styling, lots of technology and a very powerful V8 engine. Meanwhile, China has the C60 Hyosow which is an Urus clone available for a fraction of the price. The front and rear look unmistakably similar to the Urus. The Urus makes 650 horses from its 4.0-litre engine but this clone gets 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre engines making 150 HP and 200 HP respectively.
Jiangnan TT – Maruti 800 – Jiangnan Auto is a subsidiary of Zotye Automobile and they got the license from Suzuki to manufacture the 800 in China. The Jiangnan TT gets different headlamps, bumper, and roof rails but otherwise is very similar to the Maruti 800. It comes with the same 800cc engine making 36 HP and 60 Nm and the top speed is 120 km/hr. The Jiangnan TT is available for Rs. 1.60 lakhs in China.