Chinese Photocopier Strikes Back: Mini Electric Mercedes GLE And Range Rover Evoque

Some 468,000 battery electric vehicles were sold in China in 2017, with analysts estimating that the number will rise to 1 million in 2018.

That’s frankly astonishing and given that the Chinese government targets a total sales figure of 2 million EVs by 2020, some local car companies still reside into blatantly copying the designs of international models in a bid to get a solid foot in the door.

We’ve shown you Shandong Fengde’s supercar clones before (including the Bugatti Chiron and Audi R8) but the LSEV (Low Speed Electric Vehicles) manufacturer has a rather huge selection of models on offer, including two small SUV-like EVs that also look like they came out of a photocopier.

These include a mini Range Rover Evoque and a similarly sized Mercedes GLE lookalikes, with the latter even posing next to the real thing, apparently to let you divulge into their similarities.

Range Rover Evoque Mini EV Clone

The Range Rover Evoque is probably the most known case when it comes to Chinese copycats, with Jaguar Land Rover even filing a lawsuit against LandWind for copyright infringement.

Unlike LandWind’s X7, no one will pass this mini version for the real thing but still the styling cues of the massively successful British SUV are all there. Measuring 3.45 meters long, the mini Evoque has the same length with a Smart Forfour and is powered by a small electric motor. Top speed is 31mph (50km/h), which is the norm for LSEVs in China.

The five-door body appears to offer room for four passengers and the interior features a touchscreen display on the dashboard with rear-view camera and lots of grey plastic. The driver’s instrument cluster is digital and provides information on the battery charge levels as well as the usual speedometer.

Mercedes-Benz GLE Mini EV Clone

Shandong Fengde did a good job at copying Mercedes GLE’s exterior design, with the front end appearing almost like a perfect, scaled-down version of the original. It even has the same three-pointed star at some images up front while at the back, they’ve even copied the fake exhaust pipes as used in the Mercedes.

Both the “Evoque” and the “Mercedes” appear to be based on the same platform and use the same electric powertrain as their dimensions are identical, as well as their interiors. Pricing for the cloned Mercedes according to the company’s official site starts from just $3,900 (24,800 Chinese Yuan).