Chery A6CC Coupe concept

Designed by Bertone, this overall handsome and well-resolved design is comparable to the successful Hyundai Coupe in size and potential market appeal, but with slightly more compact proportions at the rear.

From what we could see, the interior is dominated by a drab grey colour (slightly relieved by some orange trim) and appears to be a near-production design.

With the Shooting Sport concept also displayed on the Chery stand, it was hard to not to compare these two similar-sized Italian designed concepts, and the A6CC Coupe is clearly the less contemporary, and least complete design.

But with Chinese car companies evolving so quickly, it seems likely that the conception of the A6CC pre-dates the Shooting Sport, and it may have been created to a very different specification.

Chery A1

Another new Chery debuting in Shanghai was the A1 mini-car. One of Chery's senior engineers told Car Design News the model was their most important show debut because it will be in production immediately, and is the first Chery designed to be sold in global markets as a Dodge.

The A1 is a fairly normal design with slightly 'kooky' lights both front and rear. On one show car the lights were complemented by a 'Mashi-Maro' cartoon character seat trim and 'Hello Kitty' front door rub-stops. An A1 with a garish sports body kit was also displayed.

The most distinctive aspect of the design is the car's shallow clamshell hood and the way it neatly integrates with the headlamps and the shut lines running from them.

Haima 3

The Haima 3 owes a lot to Mazda. Based on the platform of the now defunct 323, this C-segment five-door hatch and four-door sedan was formerly produced by Haima under license. The new design (and its name) has clearly taken a lead from the Mazda 3.

Although thematically very similar to the Mazda 3, its older platform dictates lower, narrower, pre-pedestrian impact legislation proportions, and a pinched grille aperture and slacker surfaces also make the car less modern and less masculine in identity.

Inside the Haima has instrument binnacles similar to the Mazda 3, but is otherwise closer to the just-replaced Toyota Corolla.

Although clearly informed by other cars, the Haima 3 has been designed solely by the company's in-house design studio based in Shanghai.

While it uses old Mazda underpinnings, current Mazda design themes and model name, and even the same font as Mazda in the Haima logo, the new Haima 3 is a unique new car.

With a price likely to undercut the Mazda 3 by at least a third, in the short term the Haima 3 is clearly going to steal sales from Mazda, but it could also be argued that it will also create a customer base ripe to up-grade to 'the real thing' in the medium term.