Chinese carmaker Dongfeng is making good on its promise to produce not just one Hummer EV copycat, but an entire lineup. As a followup to the Dongfeng M18, the Chinese carmaker has debuted the Mengshi M-Terrain EV under a new brand. And the Mengshi M-Terrain borrows both the looks of the Hummer EV and its off road features. Namely, the electric Hummer’s crab walk and extract mode, according to Electrek.
The Mengshi M-Terrain (link in Chinese) was unveiled with two concepts, an EV SUV and EV pickup truck. Mengshi calls the truck the M-Terrain S, and as Car News China reports, it’ll come with two-row seating despite its two doors.
The M-Terrain will go tit for tat with the Hummer EV in performance, with the doppelgänger from Dongfeng making 1,070 horsepower. The M-Terrain makes more horses than the Hummer by using four electric motors, but the Hummer EV will still outrun the M-Terrain in a 0-60 sprint: the M-Terrain will do it in under five seconds, while the Hummer EV does it in under three.
The Hummer EV has a slightly higher range of 563 km compared to the M-Terrain, which will go up to 500 km using its 140 kWh battery. But given their similar specs and features, it’s clear that the state-owned Dongfeng modelled the Mengshi M-Terrain off GM’s Hummer EV.
The M-Terrain will reportedly have a turn radius of 5.1 metres, courtesy of four-wheel steering that mimics the crab walk of the Hummer EV. To be fair, GM has leaned into the revival of four-wheel steering with the Hummer EV as a way to make off-roading easier. But many of you might remember GM’s Quadrasteer, which dates back to the early aughts.
The Mengshi M-Terrain will also come with something similar to the Hummer EV’s extract mode, which raises the Hummer up to six inches. But the M-Terrain’s air suspension will only lift the EV by around 4.1 inches.
The off-road segment is just so popular that even markets outside of the U.S. are getting in on the action. In the world’s largest car market, China, the American penchant for lumbering SUVs is slowly seeping in. When you combine the off-road craze, big SUVs and China’s electric cars, you get the Mengshi M-Terrain lineup. Sales reportedly begin in early 2023, but the pricing is still unknown.
