zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Trucks
/
The Kawei K1 Is A Diesel, Manual, Shameless F-150 Knockoff From China
The Kawei K1 Is A Diesel, Manual, Shameless F-150 Knockoff From China-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:27

Kawei Auto took a good look at the shape of the Ford F-150; threw in a splash of chrome here, a Ranger-style vent there, wrapped it all around a tuner-car interior and strapped it to a 100 horsepower diesel engine so they could sell it for about $16,000.

Our friends at tell us Kawei Auto is a subsidiary of a company called Jiangsu Kawei Automotive Industry Group headquartered in Danyang, Jiangsu Province. They built 10,000 of these "F-150 inspired" K1 pickup trucks last year, and are expanding their factory to double their output for 2015.

Kawei Auto is not holding back about where they cribbed their design. They even brought an F-150 Raptor to their booth at the Beijing Auto Show to invite comparison. The K1's brochure reads; "Stem from the pure blood of US Ford 150, KAWEI K1 Pickup is fashionable and generous."

Can't wait to hear how Ford takes being referred to as some kind of Twilight character.

The K1 gets a 107 hp 3.2 diesel engine option, or a 2.4 Mitsubishi gas engine with a whopping 143 hp. Both are hooked up to a five-speed manual with rear wheel drive, and I think it's safe to say neither is particularly motivated to accelerate, haul, or tow much of anything.

Kawei is reportedly hoping to boost business through exportation of the K1 to Europe and the Middle East, where they sent a few last year and sold for "about 100,000 yuan or 16,000 USD."

Kawei's SUV, called the W1, is built on a different platform and looks more like a Dodge Durango mated with a Kia Sorento and an older Jeep Grand Cherokee. That one goes for the equivalent of $19,000.

Hat tip to Tycho at CarNewsChina!

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Trucks
Porsche Built A 911 With Portal Axles To Go Where Unimogs Can't Reach
Porsche Built A 911 With Portal Axles To Go Where Unimogs Can't Reach
No car has ever driven at higher altitude than this 992-generation Porsche 911 Carrera 4S with portal axles. On Saturday the Porsche crew, led by racing driver Romain Dumas, reached the highest peak of the west ridge of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile, . That’s the tallest...
May 4, 2025
There Was Once A Glorious Compact Chevy ZR2 Truck
There Was Once A Glorious Compact Chevy ZR2 Truck
Those who saw the meteoric rise of through the 2010s and onward probably associate the badge with the . The was Chevy’s halo midsize truck when it was released in 2016, but the ZR2 badging goes all the way to the when Chevy made the S-10 ZR2. It’s gnarly....
May 4, 2025
Deer Flies Directly Into Pickup As Its Prospective Buyer Arrives
Deer Flies Directly Into Pickup As Its Prospective Buyer Arrives
No square inch of the Northeast is safe from deer, as video out of New Jersey shows. A deer, tearing through the suburbs, managed to leap over a Pontiac Vibe and Honda CR-V before landing on the bedside of a 2007 Chevy Silverado — just as a prospective buyer arrived...
May 4, 2025
The Nissan Navara Was The Overdue Frontier We Deserved A Decade Ago
The Nissan Navara Was The Overdue Frontier We Deserved A Decade Ago
gets dunked on for letting models like the languish for years. But, the truck saw a model update well before the release of the , which is mechanically much like an with a design. Outside of the U.S., the successor to the second-generation Frontier came in 2014 with the...
May 4, 2025
Ford Robbed Us Of The Old Four-Door Ranger To Give Us The Explorer Sport Trac
Ford Robbed Us Of The Old Four-Door Ranger To Give Us The Explorer Sport Trac
By definition, a big truck like a or struggles to be small. Even in its smallest, most trucky configuration — a two-door single cab — a full-size truck is relatively large and comes with a sizable bed for hauling cargo. But a small truck like the third-generation can do...
May 4, 2025
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Is The Hybrid Truck America Probably Needs
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Is The Hybrid Truck America Probably Needs
In addition to the all-electric , the truck brand announced this week that it will also release a engine gasoline-powered hybrid version of its electric pickup, called Ramcharger. The goal here is to use the V6 engine as a generator for the electric powertrain when the 92 kWh battery...
May 4, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved