Chinese car manufacturers are notorious for producing copycat versions of popular SUVs and sedans already available in the market. They have heavily invested in the automobile industry, resulting in the existence of several small and large brands in China. Most of these brands export their products to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. They possess the ability to replicate or create copycat versions of almost any car in the world. This time, we have images of the Haval Xianglong, which is a copycat version of the popular Land Rover Defender SUV.
The Haval Xianglong SUV is developed by Great Wall Motors. If you have been following our page for a long time, you would know that GWM had plans to enter the Indian market. However, due to various reasons, including the pandemic, the manufacturer decided to withdraw from the Indian market, officially concluding their operations last year. The Chinese SUV maker created the Xianglong SUV, which appears to be heavily inspired by the Land Rover Defender. Are we surprised? No, because this is not the first time a Chinese car manufacturer has copied a popular car.
According to information published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Xianglong has a plug-in hybrid system and is available in two variants. The base version of the SUV is powered by a 1.5-liter engine that works in conjunction with a 94 Ps electric motor in the front and a 201 Ps electric motor in the rear. The higher variant of the Xianglong gets a 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine. This hybrid engine is coupled with a 108 Ps electric motor at the front and a 201 Ps electric motor at the rear.
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Exact details regarding the battery packs used in this SUV are not available. However, according to reports available online, the SUV has a 105 km range in EV mode. The front-end design of the Xianglong SUV is actually similar to other SUVs from Haval. The similarities with the Defender become apparent when you look at the headlamps. The round headlamps and the garnish around them would instantly remind you of the Defender. Haval also offers a silver-colored skid plate on the front bumper.
The black claddings around the car give it a rugged look. At the rear, the Haval Xianglong gets a design that again resembles the Defender. The SUV features a spare wheel mounted on the tailgate with Haval branding. The black and silver rear bumper with four squared tail lamps all evoke the look of the Defender. Currently, the interior images of this SUV are not available.
However, we expect it to have modern features similar to other cars from this manufacturer. This SUV is expected to be equipped with a fully digital instrument cluster, premium-looking seats, a large touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, drive modes, and more. The SUV measures 4,800 mm in length, 1,916 mm in width, and 1,822 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,738 mm. The SUV has been developed as a proper off-roader. Prior to GWM, we had seen images of the Chery Jetour Traveller, which is also a Defender copycat.
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