Photos: China Makes Zotye T900, A Replica Of The Range Rover Sport

There's one giant hurdle standing between China's huge domestic auto industry and the wide open roads of America. We're not talking about a certain trade war—no, it's the country's strange, enduring phenomenon of copycat cars, whose blatantly-stolen designs continue to delight and confound observers abroad. The latest printout is the Zotye T900, and yes, it looks exactly like a Range Rover Sport. What a strange coincidence.

A privately-held manufacturer in China's Zhejiang province, Zotye Auto has been one of the worst offenders when it comes to copying the competition. Zotye earned some international notoriety back in 2016 when it unveiled a Porsche Macan knockoff for under $20,000; Car News China notes the company has also "reimagined" the Mazda CX-4 and the Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept from 2013.

Now it's got Jaguar Land Rover in its sights—not that the T900 is anything close to a real Range Rover.  The Range Rover Sport is a brilliantly luxe and notably capable SUV that starts around $67,000 in the United States. Meanwhile, the Zotye T900 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo making 238 horsepower and ranges between the equivalent of $23,000 to $30,000 in the Chinese market.

The interior is somewhat more unique having a blend of Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rover.
Interestingly, the touch screen shows the instrument panel and the touchscreen. Materials look rather nice, wood and leather very classy. Recent Zotye’s all have decent looking interiors, they have made a lot of progress there in recent years.

The Zotye T900 is expected to launch on the Chinese car market in early 2019. Price will start around 170.000 yuan or $23,400 which is 8.5million naira. For comparison, Range Rover Sport starts at 1.02 million yuan, and that’s $149,000 when converted to naira is 54.2million naira

November 19, 2018