Dongfeng has unveiled what is being referred to as a “Hummer EV knock-off” and it features its own impressive 4 electric motor powertrain and crab walk.
There already have been a few issues with Chinese knock-offs in the EV industry – or at least copying significant parts of some designs.
For example, during its early days, China’s Xpeng copied a lot of Tesla’s designs.
Now it seems like the GMC Hummer EV is the next electric vehicle to be targeted by Chinese copycats.
Dongfeng, a large state-owned automaker, has unveiled a new electric vehicle under its Mengshi brand and many are pointing out that it was clearly inspired by the Hummer EV.
While the design is somewhat similar, you could probably say the same of any large boxy SUVs:
Interestingly, Dongfeng had previously acquired the rights to build a Chinese military vehicle based on the original Humvee. Considering the Hummer was a consumer version of the Humvee, there’s definitely a link there when it comes to design inspiration.
However, the specs and features are probably what is bringing the accusation of being a ‘Chinese Hummer EV knock-off’ more than the design.
Dongfeng released a video showing the electric vehicle, called the Mengshi M-Terrain, do a ‘crab walk’, which was a feature based on rear-wheel steering first made popular by the Hummer EV:
As for the powertrain, it is reportedly extremely similar to the Hummer EV.
Unlike the Hummer EV’s three electric motors, the Mengshi M-Terrain can be equipped with up to 4 motors for a similar total output as the top-performance Hummer EV with 1,073 hp.
It can be equipped with a battery pack of up to 140 kWh for around 500 km (310 miles) of range.
The current version of the Hummer EV being sold has a 200 kWh battery pack good for 329 miles of range, but it is also much heavier than its Chinese knock-off at 9,000 lbs instead of 6,000 lbs.
Like the Hummer EV, Dongfeng has also indicated that the Mengshi M-Terrain would be offered in both SUV and pickup truck formats.
It is expected to reach the Chinese market next year. There’s no word on pricing yet, but we would expect it to be much cheaper than the current $112,595 starting price of the Hummer EV.
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Keyword: Chinese Hummer EV Knock-Off comes with 4 motors and its own crab walk