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Warning to Chinese copycat cars

  • By John Reed
  • The Australian
  • 31 August 2007

DaimlerChrysler and BMW are threatening legal action over Chinese-made cars they claim are copies.

German chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in on the issue yesterday. In a speech in Beijing, she described plagiarism and copyright infringement in China as 'a big problem.'

DaimlerChrysler said it would consider unspecified legal action if Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan Automobile showed the Noble, which it says closely resembles its Smart Fortwo minicar at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show.

“We take intellectual property protection very seriously,” a DaimlerChrysler spokesman said.

“We decided to reserve the right to pursue legal action.”

BMW said it was considering legal action against the importer of another Shuanghuan vehicle the CEO, which it claims closely resembles a previous version of its X5 sports utility vehicle that was discontinued last year. Shuanghuan and China Automobile Deutschland, the importer, could not be reached for comment.

Ms Merkel said “If suddenly a car turns up that looks like a Smart but isn't one, but rather a copy produced by not entirely legal means, then that's not good.”

DaimlerChrysler, which following its sale of Chrysler, is due to change its name to Daimler in October has not elaborated on its legal plans, but the company is understood to have contacted Shuanghuan about the issue.

The German company last year succeeded in stopping another Chinese producer, CMEC, from bringing to market another vehicle that closely resembled the Smart.

Global carmakers, including Germany's, are seeking to entrench their positions in China, now the world's second-largest vehicle market after the US, while seeking to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights.

More Chinese Cars: Great Wall Motors

Comments on this story

Displaying 3 of 13 comments

  • A few more that are interesting to google are: Geely GE - Rolls Royce Phantom rip-off Great Wall Pery - Fiat Panda (not in Australia, but still valid!) The Great Wall Coolbear - Toyota Rukus copy Great Wall Florid - think Toyota Yaris/Corolla BYD M6 - Toyota Tarrago BYD F3 - '03-'06 Toyota Camry BYD S6 - Lexus RX BYD Fo - Toyota Aygo BYD F8 - Merc CLK Even look at BYD's logo... remind you of BMW, perhaps??

    small-car-dude Posted on 07 September 2010 2:05pm

  • @ J attard: For a car enthusiast, i find it odd that you were unable to spell the car makers names. I also hate the coppies, but Hyundai hasnt coppied designs for a long time. Yes, the brand new i45 has got a similar "4-door coupe" look to the M-B CLS, but alot of companies are doing that (Maserati, Mazda's latest concept to name a few), but it's design is not a copy. It has its own 'look'. And name one instance where Mazda has coppied Alfa?? Yes, Mazda and Ford did create very similar cars for quite a while in the 80s and 90s, but that was because Ford owned Mazda, so Ford used Mazda's designs as they were struggling for cash. But Alfa? I think not. I think that our real problem here is where there are blatant rip-offs of cars by makers totally un-related to the original maker. (Google "UFO RV" - a '00 Toyota Rav4, or the "Shuanghuan CEO" - a cross between a Toyota Prado and a BMW X5, or the "Shuanghuan Noble" - a Smart-car rip off.) These are the real issues, not the ones of past, where a deal has been struck (like the mid-90s-early'00s Protons, based on Mitsubishis.), but a violation of copyright.

    small-car-dude Posted on 07 September 2010 1:43pm

  • Matthews got a good point. But luckily mazdas back and leading the way once again. Seems the chinese are copying things too often now. But what I have concluded is that the reason for all this copying is that all these small companies in china does not have the huge production budgets as much as the others in the marker, hence the best they could bo is to copy an existing car.

    Lakshan of dandenong Posted on 10 September 2009 2:19pm

  • Just try and stop them in a Chinese court though... Daewoo tried when Chery copied the Daewoo Matiz, and the Chinese courts always rules in favour of the Chinese company, even after they dismantled a Chery and a Daewoo, then built 2 hybrids with the parts, which fitted together nearly perfectly.

    Sir Osis of Liver Posted on 20 July 2009 8:14am

  • Chinese cars ,no way give me safety every time .My cars are Volvos guess why and Turbo so they go well too .

    Jon Robertson Posted on 06 September 2007 10:16am

  • Actually in my opinion it's funny how several of you brought up mazda as copying when it's actually their design cues and small cars who where coppied.Look at early 90's mazdas, 121 bubble car 323 astina(2nd gen) with the curves and sloping back and even the 626/telstar twins (ford owns mazda) at the time these curvy cars with smooth curved bulges over the wheel arch where being made alfa, vw and mercedes where still building sharp angled 2 or 3 box design cars. But as there was a japanese recession ford slashed the design budget and made mazda go as bland as possible in an attempt to increase profits ruining their image as a style leader (Rember the 121, and 323 after the bubble / curved designs looked like the traditional 2 box vw golf design again and the 929 got axed over here.)

    matthew Posted on 05 September 2007 5:25pm

  • It's about time companies started taking action and proctecting their designs and image. As a car enthusiast, I can't stand copies. Suzuki Swift copied the Mini Cooper, Mazda imitates Alfa Romeos and Hyandu copies Jaguar, MGF and Mercedes, just to name a few.

    j attard Posted on 05 September 2007 3:29pm

  • Peter Franklin, nice attempt at a sentence that resembled something resonably coherent, but I hate to break it to you, car companies are owned by other companies often share parts to save money, there is your answer, Mazda don't "copy" their cars, also, similarities often are the result of designers, who are victims of the times and styles of their period, not to mention 1 designer can draw cars for more than one company, resulting in similairities. (See new Aston Martin Roadster and Jag Roadster)

    Adrian Wood Posted on 05 September 2007 10:03am

  • it's true, the Japanese started this trend (copying in part all goods, including cars) post-WWII, the Koreans followed decades later -- now both countries are consistently producing amongst the World's best quality and best value goods you can buy. China's rapid growth in manufacturing is set to eclipse this in a few years. China has long championed the industry for knock-offs and counterfeit goods, but they are still some way from being a serious threat to the car industry. Chrysler complains, but you needn't look very closely at their 300C for copied styling; BMW are guilty of copying ... only itself, if they quit the introspective conservatism and worked on some fresh designs, they may regain their edge. As for the Chinese copies... it's hard to see why anyone would buy one with their safety records, and surprising they can be sold/registered in Europe (take a look at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118651314364590719.html).

    kris treagus Posted on 05 September 2007 9:54am

  • Wow, check out the rear of the Shuanghuan CEO: http://www.autojurnal.ro/autojurnal-content/uploads/2006/11/shuanghuan_ceo_7.thumbnail.jpg Very X5-like.

    Ben Posted on 05 September 2007 9:54am

  • Peter Sophios and Peter Franklin have talked about the Japanese, but hang on, he Japanese are making really sofiticated cars that are Legal! Very Legal. Don't ever get the Japanese mixed up with the Chinese. Japanese cars are the top 20 selling cars in Europe. yes we have a problem with China's cars, it is very apparent Japanese cars are also being ripped off in China too. If Europe America and Japan got together I believe there would be enough pressure that all Chinese manufactures copping cars would stop. (Crossing fingers here!!! if anyone else has delt with business men there)

    Angus Posted on 04 September 2007 3:10pm

  • I totally agree with Peter with respect to the new Lexus, from the rear it is all 7Series BMW and the front is S Class rip off. As with most Japanese/Korean cars today until you see the badge it is difficult to destinguish Daihatsu's from Mitsubishis's. The Chinese motor vehicle industry is built on superseded models of Audis, Volkswagens etc. now look out for three diferrent versions of previous Rover ZR, MGs and E Class Benz all with Chinese names. Is this an issue APEC is looking into and what affect will it have on our industry? Chinese car sales are now booming in Europe.

    Peter Sophios Posted on 04 September 2007 1:55pm

  • What about the Japanese manufactors,look at the new lexus and compare with the new s class benz,Mazda is an other offender

    Peter Franklin Posted on 04 September 2007 1:06pm
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