For a mere 60 yuan (HK$56), brand-conscious mainland consumers are upgrading their domestically produced cars to Mercedes and BMWs. It is a simple process and one that is becoming increasingly popular.
Just take the old Tianjin-made Xiali down to the nearest car accessory shop and pick up a fake badge. Remove the old domestic logo, replace it with the new badge and take your very own luxury import for a spin.
A fake Mercedes-Benz badge will set you back about 60 yuan, a BMW is slightly more at 80 yuan, while a bogus Toyota badge is a steal at just 15 yuan.
'This Great Wall SUV cost me around 80,000 yuan,' said the owner of a Toyota sport utility vehicle (SUV) who gave his name as Wang. 'But now that I've changed the badges to Toyota, it looks more like a 300,000 yuan model.'
Minibuses produced by Liuzhou Wuling Motors and cars from Dongnan Qiche are also frequently transformed into Mitsubishis. But the Great Wall SUV/Toyota conversion is more popular. 'I think it's because the two models look pretty similar,' Mr Wang said. 'It's just a way of showing off - like a peacock.'
Huang Chao owns a small shop selling accessories to the owners of private cars. Much of what he sells is unauthorised. 'There's a demand for these goods and traders like me are happy to satisfy it,' he said. 'I think only half the Toyota SUVs out there are the real thing.'