As a professional car reviewer, I couldn’t travel to test-drive interesting cars during the early pandemic, so I did the next best thing: went to the website Alibaba, and bought a Changli. After I paid $2,000 for shipping and customs, the car arrived at my doorstep months later in a massive cardboard box.

But if you’re hoping that you might be able to buy these cars like you do so many other Chinese-made gadgets, keep dreaming.