The Jaecoo J7 Is a Range Rover Evoque Clone and We’re All OK With It
The Jaecoo J7 launched in Malaysia in 2024 for the low, low price of RM138,800 and not to mince words here, it’s an almost complete knockoff of the Range Rover Evoque.
What’s strange however, is that Malaysians seem to be okay with it.
This is circumstantial evidence at best, but we’ve seen the Jaecoo J7 on the road. People are unironically buying this car knowing that it’s a knockoff.
There’s something about the RM138,800 price tag that helps people rationalise in their minds that even though its almost a clone, it’s still justified because they’re getting the clout of an Evoque at one fourth the price.
That’s not to say China’s car companies have not in the past looked at their peers homework and copied. Take the Dongfeng Hanma the Porsche Macan clone for example.
But this is the first time that a car so blatantly copied is being so openly sold outside mainland China (well, in recent memory at least).
Chinese knockoffs have always been prevalent but for the most part, they’ve been confined to consumer goods like watches and shoes. These were often sold as fakes and were bought by people who willingly participated in purchasing and presenting fakes as if they were real.
In these cases, the sum you spend on a fake is so small compared to the real deal (what’s a fake Rolex at RM100 compared to RM100,000) that even the bruise to your ego once someone figures out you’re wearing a fake is minimal.
With the SUV however, you’re still spending a hefty sum to get a vehicle that you know is ripping off another car and that you know you want the stylings of an expensive car without having to pay the money for it.
And the people who see you in it, know that you know the car is borrowing more than just a concept.
If you decide to get one then hey, more power to you, we hear it’s a well-made car that Jaecoo J7. Just don’t try to justify your purchase by saying it drives well or you need an SUV.
You bought it because it looks like a Range Rover and you don’t want to spend half a million to get the actual Evoque.