WUHAN CLAN

One in 10 cars sold in the UK are made in China. But not all of them are from Chinese brands. Do you know your Ningde from your Chengdu?

- By Ellis Hyde

CHINA reportedly produced more than 31 million cars last year alone – almost double the amount cranked out across the whole of Europe. Indeed, many big European brands have capacity in China, either building cars in joint ventures for the domestic market, or assembling them for export.

So you could have been driving a ‘Made in China’ car without realising it – like these 10 dual-nationals, for example...

1. Dacia Spring

Made in: Wuhan

YOU seriously never wondered how the Dacia Spring could have a price tag of just £15k? Being built in Wuhan isn't the only reason, of course, but it will certainly have helped this urban runaround earn the title of Europe's cheapest EV. It's produced there as part of a joint venture between the Renault Group and the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng.

However, because the Spring is made in China, it's now slapped with an import tariff when entering the EU. Amazingly, this hasn't affected the price at all, but it explains Dacia's decision to produce the Spring's successor - which was hinted at by the mega-boxy Dacia Hipster concept - in Europe.

2. Cupra Tavascan

Made in: Anhui

THE Cupra Tavascan was named after a small Spanish village in the heart of the Pyrenees, just outside Andorra, and designed in the sporty brand's home of Barcelona. Yet it's built some 6,000 miles away in the Volkswagen Group's Anhui factory, because apparently production capacity in Europe is too limited.

Curiously, it seems enough for Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen and even Ford, because all their cars that use the same MEB platform are built in Europe. Even the Cupra Born electric hatch, which sits on the same architecture, is assembled in Zwickau, Germany.

3. Lotus Emeya

Made in: Wuhan