This Huawei-Backed EV Copies The Porsche Taycan. But Not Its Price

Just like the Porsche Taycan, the upcoming SAIC Z7 EV will come in both sedan and wagon body styles.

SAIC Z7

Photo by: SAIC

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Mar 11, at 10:27am ET

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SAIC will launch a Huawei-backed Porsche Taycan clone in China later this month.
The SAIC Z7 looks extremely similar to the Taycan but costs way, way less.
It will have single- and dual-motor powertrains and up to 434 miles of CLTC range.

China used to be known for copying Western cars, but over the years, it has mostly shed that image. However, cars like the SAIC Z7 remind me that copyright and trademarks still don’t mean much in China. This new EV developed under the HIMA umbrella in collaboration with Huawei seems about as close as you can get to cloning a Taycan without actually putting a Porsche badge on it.

So many things about the Z7’s design scream Taycan, from the general shape of its body to details like the daytime running lights, the vertical air intakes on the front bumper, and the body-colored aero details on the wheels. The latter is a design feature that traces back to the original Mission E concept that previewed the Taycan, made it to production, and is one of the most recognizable wheel designs of recent years.

Gallery: SAIC Z7 and Z7T

SAIC Z7

SAIC Z7 SAIC Z7 SAIC Z7 SAIC Z7

Source: SAIC

There’s also a wagon version coming, too, the Z7T, which closely emulates the look of the Taycan Sport Turismo right down to the shape of its taillights, bumper, and the style of its diffuser. Both body styles will be officially unveiled on March 31 to take on the Xiaomi SU7, which has become something of a segment leader in China.

The Z7 is expected to cost between 250,000 and 350,000 yuan ($36,000 and $50,600), according to multiple local sources. That puts it up against the popular SU7, which costs between 215,900 and 299,900 yuan ($30,400 and $42,200), although the Ultra version of the Xiaomi is considerably more expensive at 529,900 yuan ($72,850).

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No comparable version of the Z7 has been announced yet, but that may be planned for future release. The standard model will be built on an 800-volt platform, with the most powerful all-wheel-drive variant pushing 517 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque. It should sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.9 seconds.

The CLTC rating for the longest-range variant, expected to have a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack, will exceed 434 miles (700 km). The standard-range battery is expected to have a capacity of 80 kWh. The easiest way to tell you’re looking at a Z7 rather than a Taycan is the lidar hump above the windshield, which is used for the car’s advanced driver assistance and automated driving systems. Otherwise, you'lln have to squint to see the difference.