Chinese Cars

Audi resurrected its luxury brand name, Horch, with the introduction of the ultra-lux A8 L and the A8 L Horch will be a China-exclusive model, as the market has more cravings for long-wheelbase luxury sedans. It will go head-to-head with the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class which has been the German-marque of ultra-luxury. Does the A8 L Horch have what it takes?

Chinese carmakers have come a long way in a short time that much is clear. Now, they are going a step further, by taking on Tesla, with what looks like…a Tesla? This is the Nezha S, also known as the Neta S (both names are used), which was unveiled at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show. While the shape may bear a striking resemblance to the Tesla Model S, the Nezha/Neta S is its own car. Moreover, it promises to beat the American EV manufacturer to full autonomy, achieving Level 4 autonomy, by 2022.

Back in 2021 at the Shanghai Auto Show Lincoln was presenting the Zephyr Reflection Concept. Then, at the beginning of November 2021 the first leaked images offered us the first look at the production version. And now, as no surprise, the production version made its world debut at the Auto Guangzhou 2021.

The new Zephyr will be the first Lincoln model locally produced in China, and only for the Chinese market.

At the beginning of November 2021, I brought you spy shots of a mysterious Audi EV prototype that could have been the Q6 E-Tron or a special, China-only model that would slots somewhere between the Q6 and Q4 E-Tron. As it turns out, it was the China-only Q5 E-Tron, and now it has been fully revealed. As you’d expect it’s based largely on the Audi Concept Shanghai that was reveled back in April 2021, a car that led us to believe that China would be getting something like a fancier ID.6 with an Audi badge.

It’s clear, by now, that the Chinese automotive industry has developed significantly since the early 2000s. Fast-forward to nowadays and they are challenging the latest and greatest from established car manufacturers. A perfect example is the recently-unveiled Hongqi E-HS9 – a fully electric luxury SUV from one of China’s top premium brands.

If 10 years ago someone had told me that Chinese car manufacturers are coming up with high-end products, I would have laughed hard. Nowadays, things have changed a bit, as Chinese companies are pouring billions for research and development purposes. Really, it proves that a product is only as good as the amount of investment poured into its development. This seems to be the case with the GAC Trumpchi GS8 – the latest full-size SUV from China.

The Chinese automotive industry has been steadily gathering momentum and they are now offering some viable alternatives, especially in the more affordable price range. Not long ago, Geely’s upscale brand, Lync & Co introduced its newest model – the 06. Regardless of the name, this is actually the smallest and also fifth model of the luxury brand. The Lynk & Co is a compact SUV, aimed at younger buyers.

Electrification and autonomous driving represent the future of the auto industry. That’s spurred automakers from all corners of the world to hitch their proverbial wagons on these two segments. Chinese auto giant BAIC is one of those automakers, and it’s jumping on board the electric SUV bandwagon through its sub-brand, Arcfox, which didn’t take long to roll out the ECF electric SUV Concept.

Designed by the great Walter de Silva, the ECF Concept is a stylistic concept SUV that may or may not end up in production. The SUV comes with a more minimalist design than Arcfox’s other concept offering, the all-electric GT sports car, and if it ends up getting the green light, it could serve as the tent pole for Arcfox’s future vehicle offerings. No pressure, right?

The 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class L is a longer wheelbase version of the company’s midsize sedan. Built in China and available exclusively to this market, the 2021 E-Class L is based on the latest, facelifted W213-generation sedan. The long-wheelbase model is 140 mm (5.5 inches) longer than the standard sedan and all of that extra wheelbase goes into the rear compartment, which translates into more legroom for rear-seat passengers. What sets it apart from the regular E-Class? Let’s find out in the review below.

It is one thing to be inspired by a product, and another to copy a product. Unfortunately, some Chinese automakers fall under the second category. We’ve seen ripped-off versions of Minis, Teslas, BMWs, and the latest one to join that ‘flattered’ list is the Ford F-150 Raptor. What we see here is not a Ford F-150 Raptor modified by some tuner who has slapped its badge on it. This truck is a production-version vehicle from Foton. Foton’s latest pickup truck called the Da Jiang Jun is nothing but an F-150 Raptor face with some lackluster mills under the hood.

People scamming other people into buying bogus products isn’t new. But with the raise of e-commerce, it has become a lot easier to deceive the naïve buyer into sending you hefty cash payments for a product that’s completely different than advertised.

In this case, the merchandise was a car, marketed as a Chinese-made electric supercar priced at just $31,000. This itself should have been an eyebrow raiser, but not for this guy, who ordered one off Alibaba and got a badly-built, cheap-looking electric microcar of sorts instead.

Kaiyun Motors was started in 2014 with the goal of taking on the American pickup market with its tiny all-electric model called the Pickman. Now, some five years later, the Chinese startup is set to start shipping these battery powered ponies into the States where their arrival will undoubtedly cause a bit of a stir.

China has been known for putting out some outrageous knock-offs over the years. BMW seems to be a favorite of Chinese carmakers that can’t quite get around designing a car on their own. Geely seems to continue the trend in a more subtle manner with their latest crossover, the FY11.

No, this is not the facelifted BMW X4 or its big brother, the X6. This is, in fact, what Geely calls its most driver-focused car yet. It’s a coupe-bodied crossover, so the statement in itself is dubious, but it’s not as dubious as the variety of styling cues that basically tell us one thing: Geely’s designers watched too many BMW promotional videos before getting to the task of penning the FY11. It’s underpinned by the same platform as the XC40 from Volvo, and it will be followed by an all-electric sedan and an MPV as Geely looks to extend its range further.