Mercedes EQC Knockoffs Found on Alibaba Are Beyond Cringeworthy
Fleet of eight Alibaba-listed Chinese knockoff Benzes cost less than one EQC, but why bother with a bunch of golf carts?
If you’re a Mercedes enthusiast and in the market for a new EV, the Mercedes EQC has likely raised your heart rate a bit. Being all-electric, looking every part a Mercedes and pushing the game forward are attributes easily associated with the new crossover. But what if you’re on a budget?
In China, you can save a few bucks. That is, of course, assuming the EQC will be within the realm of $70,000 or so to compete with Tesla and Jaguar. Instead, you can opt for these curious looking Mercedes knockoffs from Alibaba, and get eight of them for a cool $48,000. But what do you get?
Well, you get what would pass as a nice golf kart here in America, and something that would pass as an full-scale car in China. Made by Zhengzhou Dongfeng Mid-south Enterprise Co., Ltd, these EVs are fully customized to customer specification. Meaning you could get one of their own design (don’t), or perhaps one that looks like a Land Rover. Or in this case, a Mercedes EQC. Interestingly, they must be purchased individually, but at MBWorld we suppose that they’d make a stellar fleet of security vehicles at a country club.
The spec sheet alone is quite interesting on these EVs, which are called “DF STEEL CNEV ROVER.” They are astonishingly slow, with a top speed of just 50kmh, or 31 miles per hour. Their total output does not even exceed seven horsepower. Yes seven, as in three less than 10. Some parts of the description say AWD, some say RWD (that’s our bet), and their range is about 60 miles. Not like you’d be getting there quickly, or want to spend that much time inside one.
This isn’t China’s first flirt with a blatant Mercedes copy, either. Earlier this year, there was the debut of the Chinese-made 6×6. But these copies go hand in hand with China’s booming auto industry. Geely, a Chinese auto manufacturer is now part owner of the Mercedes/Daimler corp after a heavy investment in the German brand earlier in the year.
While we doubt we’ll ever see one of these in the USA, it’s still interesting to see what’s going on in other international markets. For now, we’ll just stick with regular Mercedes models with the AMG badge slapped on them. Mercedes EQC included.
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