One of China’s ‘Big Four’ automakers has unveiled a new all-electric truck ‘concept’, and it looks uncannily similar to Tesla’s iconic but controversial Cybertruck.
Tentatively titled ‘2024 Concept Pickup Truck’, China’s Cybertruck knockoff would likely be priced much cheaper than Tesla’s luxury vehicle, based on China’s billions in electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.
The model on display this week at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show featured a pop-up tent on a mattress in the bed of its truck, protected by a heavier but more rounded silver metal body, as well as a full-length rear LED. complete that transmits messages to those who pass by. motorists.
This tough new competition comes as Tesla has issued a broad recall of more than 4,000 Cybertrucks, citing safety issues with the electric vehicle’s accelerator pedal cover, which owners discovered can slide and snag on carpet.
The flaw has been found to lock the Cybertruck’s pedals in place, plunging the futuristic stainless steel giant out of control at top speed.
Tentatively titled ‘2024 Concept Pickup Truck,’ China’s Cybertruck knockoff (above) would likely be priced much cheaper than Tesla’s luxury vehicle, based on billions of dollars in electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. from China.
The model on display this week at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show featured a pop-up tent on a mattress in the bed of its truck, protected by a heavier but more rounded silver metal body, as well as a full-length rear LED. complete that transmits messages to those who pass by. motorists
Above, a look at the ‘concept’ truck with a full-length rear LED that greets everyone with ‘Hello, Beijing’
Wuhan-based Dongfeng, which built the EV Cybertruck concept, outsells 2 million cars each year, mainly through cooperative ventures with foreign automakers, including Japanese owners Honda and Nissan, and France-based Peugeot.
Like Tesla’s Cybertruck, Dongfeng’s truck concept comes with a blunt, wedge-shaped or “sledgehammer” design, a pronounced, snub nose at the front and a cargo bed over the rear wheels.
While China is currently Tesla’s largest market outside the United States, the company’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, has noted that it would ‘very difficult‘ to make his novel Cybertruck ‘road legal’ in the Asian country.
However, the interior of Dongfeng’s Cybertruck knockoff remains a mystery.
Unlike the rest of the communist state electric vehicle maker’s lineup at the Beijing show, Dongfeng’s ‘concept’ truck was cordoned off, preventing attendees from looking out the windows or opening its doors.
