In this video we take a look at 10 Chinese cars which resemble some very popular cars in design.
Chinese Copy Cars
Shuanghuan SCEO – BMW X5 – The front of the Shuanghuan SCEO looks like the old Lexus RX, but the side and rear are very similar to the old BMW X5 (E53). The car looks like an amalgamation of Japanese and German SUVs. BMW saw this car and filed a case against the company, won the case and the car was banned in Germany.
CH Lithia – Audi R8 – The Audi R8 is a popular supercar but the Chinese launched the CH Lithia. The front and rear look quite different but the side is very similar to the old R8. While the old Audi R8 got V8 and V10 petrol engines, the Lithia is an electric car.
Youxia Ranger X – Tesla Model S – The Tesla Model S is an electric car known for its high performance, long range and some crazy technology. The Youxia Ranger X has a lot of similarities with the Model S. Youxia means Knight Rider and this car does 0-100 km/hr in about 5.5 seconds while it also has a range of 450 kms.
Lifan 320 – MINI – The Lifan 320 was launched in Beijing in 2008 and instantly people noticed the similarities between this and the MINI Cooper. While the MINI looks classy, the clone didn’t look that great and the quality wasn’t as rich either. The Lifan 320 got a 1.3-litre engine and it got a facelift in 2013.
Geely GE – Rolls-Royce Phantom – The Phantom is one of the most expensive cars in the world and the Geely GE is a copy of that. While the Phantom gets a 6.75-litre V12 engine, the GE gets a 3.5-litre V6. The grille, lights, body line are all very similar to the RR. In fact, Geely has also put a logo on the hood which is very similar to the Spirit of Ecstasy in Rolls-Royce.
Geely Merrie 300 – Mercedes C-Class – The W203 was a very popular generation of the Mercedes C-Class and the Geely Merrie 300 is a clone of that. It looks a bit different from the rear but the front is very similar. The grille, logo on the bonnet, bumper design and the circular headlamps remind you of the C-Class. Goes without saying that the clone is cheaper than the original car.
Zotye SR9 – Porsche Macan – The Porsche Macan is known as a sporty SUV and this vehicle from Stuttgart has been copied as the Zotye SR9. The Macan copy comes with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine from Mitsubishi and it costs somewhere around Rs. 12 lakhs.
Suzhou Eagle Carrie – Ferrari/Porsche – The Suzhou Eagle Carrie is an electric sports car which does 0-100 in 4.8 seconds. The front of this car looks like the Ferrari California T while the rear looks like the Porsche Cayman. The manner in which the car’s name is written at the back is also very similar to Porsche, so is the logo of Eagle which bears an uncanny resemblance to Porsche’s.
Diablo VT – Lamborghini Diablo – The Lamborghini Diablo is a very iconic sports car but the Chinese copied this too with the Diablo VT and they even kept the name same. They claim this is the first Chinese sports car and it comes with a Toyota V8 engine making 450 HP. The original Diablo got a 5.7-litre V12 engine making 485 HP.
Landwind X7 – Range Rover Evoque – Landwind X7 is the most popular Chinese car clone. It looks very similar to the Range Rover Evoque but costs much lesser. The front, rear, side all of them bear resemblance to Evoque. Land Rover filed a case against Landwind but couldn’t win the case initially. They persisted and eventually won the case in 2019. Landwind had to cease production of the X7 finally.
There are no design copyright laws in China which is why manufacturers copy anything and everything and get away. If these clones get launched in other countries, automakers would obviously file cases and the cars would get banned. Many automakers have filed cases in China and they lost too, but because of their reliance on China they couldn’t stop their local sales. There was an instance where a Chinese automaker shipped some of these cars to Europe and the European authorities seized the cars at the port itself, and now the cars can neither enter Europe nor can they go back to China.
