Here is a car that I didn't even know existed 15 minutes ago. It's an Emgrand. From a quick Wiki search, it:
- is made in China, Uruguay, and Iraq(!);
- is the first Chinese-designed car to pass Euro NCAP tests;
- is supposedly on sale in the UK (is that true?).
I can't tell what this car is a copy of. A stretched Corolla? The badge reminds me of the new Cadillac logo. The T stands for "tourist" so it's probably a rental.
It doesn't seem terrible. Here is a review, in Russian?
Interesting that there is no Geely badge on the back. The Great Wall Haval has no GW badge on the front either. Maybe like the original Mustangs, they are trying to hide the make behind the model.
ReplyDeleteThe rear view reminds me of both MB and Honda.
@Lukas: I think it's an upscale division, like Lexus or Infiniti.
ReplyDeleteAre there any Chinese cars in Oz yet?
Please, enjoy the cars I could spot in Cuba, including a few Emgrand EC7:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/riveranotario/sets/72157633007546439/
Both Emgrand EC7 and EX7 are sold in Chile. They look nice, but somewhat out of date. And nowadays, quite a few Chinese cars look pretty good.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=55665672@N02&q=emgrand
@Ripituc: Why didn't you share those pictures earlier?! They are incredible.
ReplyDelete@Maxichamp: I think I did! Although via Twitter, they surely got lost in there? It was almost a year ago and I haven't yet finished uploading them all.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many chinese brands out there.
ReplyDeleteDid you know about Brilliance?
Aka Chinese BMW as media labeled it due to their decent "sporty" looks when they started to export them to Russia and few other countries.
Check their BS4, BS5 or BC3.
Haven't heard about this brand in a while.
Or about Hafei Brio?
It is a car which has chassis developed by Lotus and design by Pininfarina.
After that description you'd expect something amazing but it isn't.
There is brand called Besturn. They sell their cars officially here and even have dealership in my city.
Also MG (ex-british) started selling their cars officially here few months ago.
Plus there is Italian brand of cars called DR Motor.
Technically it is Chinese Chery with reworked deisgn.
Seen quite a few in Italy.
@Sanchez All those are sold in Chile and can be seen in my gallery!
ReplyDelete(I know, I keep selfpromoting, but why wouldn't I?)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/riveranotario/sets/72157628775913143/
Well, of course DR cars are not sold as such, but as their Chinese originals, Chery.
@Ripituc
ReplyDeleteVery cool gallery.
Looks like Chinese cars can be found in every part of the world except for Western Europe, USA, Canada and Japan. Even though they are sold everywhere they aren't popular due to their bad quality, low safety and weird design. But looking at newer generation of Chinese models like Qoros I think it's about time they will get to the level of Korean, Japanese and some European cars.
Those Polski Fiat 126ps from Ripituc's gallery were sold in Oz as an FSM 650 or something like that maybe a decade ago. Selling point: cheapest car on the market.
ReplyDeleteChinese cars in Oz: Great wall - various utes and SUVs, main one based off the Isuzu Dmax, and Chary were selling things for a while, but are temporarily not because their cars don't have now-mandatory stability control. Tata and Mahindra are here too!