As China moved into the 21st Century, its cars became more sophisticated and gradually more acceptable to foreign tastes with export potential, although most models were still inferior copies of proven Western vehicles.
At the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in the early ‘noughties, for example, a few Chinese car brands were famously removed from one of the smaller exhibition halls at the requests of domestic German giants BMW and Daimler-Benz, for displaying third-rate copies of the BMW X5 (the Shuanghuan SCEO) and various Smart-inspired city cars (the Shuanghuan Auto Noble, Flybo EV, HuoYun, and so on).
As well as poor early 21st Century copies of the BMW X5 and Smart ForTwo, other fake Chinese facsimiles included Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen look-alikes, plus unofficial Kia Picantos, Hyundai Coupes, Citroen ZXs, Daihatsu Charades, Lexus RXs, and many others.
The Chinese art of foreign car forgery is still rife today, other copies of the Range Rover Evoque still being made, such as a tiny Yogomo S325 city car, for example, along with a fake Audi R8, BMW X1, Cadillac Escalade and even Hummer H1 all currently available in China.
Here are 10 more Chinese car copies that have caught my attention and caused occasional disbelief: