--- title: "Chinese Automaker Clones the Range Rover Sport with the $23K Zotye T900" description: "The country's strange, enduring phenomenon of copycat cars continues 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." date: "2018-09-05" modified: "2018-09-05" authors: - name: "Kyle Cheromcha" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/23353/chinese-automaker-clones-the-range-rover-sport-with-the-25k-zotye-t900" categories: - "Land Rover News" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Trucks" tags: - "China" - "chinese cars" - "copyright" - "Jaguar Land Rover" - "knockoff" - "range rover sport" - "Zotye" --- # Chinese Automaker Clones the Range Rover Sport with the $23K Zotye T900 ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* 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 Rangie. 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. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1036881878039621632 On the outside, the two look remarkably similar since Zotye made little effort to disguise that side profile, and *Car News China* reports the new SUV's dimensions match the original Range Rover. The interior of the knockoff is a far cry from the real thing, but some strategic replication of Mercedes-Benz's new MBUX [two-screen gauge cluster and infotainment display]() gives it its own flavor. ![message-editor%2F1536100884594-rrrrs18mystudio04101705.jpg]() **Jaguar Land Rover** So what's do be done about this problem? Not much. Three years ago, Jaguar Land Rover tried and failed to sue a different Chinese automaker that went even further in copying the Range Rover Evoque. JLR CEO Ralf Speth [later told reporters]() that "there are no laws, there's nothing to protect us" in China's famously byzantine and protectionist legal system, "so we have to take it as it is." We have a feeling that means the T900 isn't going anywhere either. Interestingly, Zotye recently linked arms with Ford in a plan to co-develop and sell a new line of electric vehicles in China, [as *Car News China* points out]() in a report referring to the companies as "new friends." Since Ford actually ran the Land Rover brand up until 2008, maybe it could lean on its new friend to ease up on the theft of what was once its own intellectual property. ## Author Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()