We all know that the Chinese usually copy all kinds of clothing: sport shoes, T-shirts and others. It seems they now go for more important stuff, like cars. It’s unbelievable. Copying seems like a Chinese national sport.
Here are some examples of copied cars (go to the gallery after the jump to see the photos):
- Daewoo Matiz - Chery QQ
- Vauxhall Frontera - Landwind
- Honda CRV - Laibao SRV
- Mercedes C-Class - Geely Merrie 300
- Neoplan Starliner - Zonda A9
- Rolls-Royce Phantom - Hongqi HQD
- Smart - Chinese Smart
- Toyota Prado - Dadi Shuttle
- Nissan XTrail - Greatwall Sing
- BMW 7 - BYD F6
- BMW logo - BYD logo
- Toyota Logo - Geely Logo
Of course they have no desire to stop here. At this year's Frankfurt Auto Show they plan to bring two more clones to the game:
- Toyota RAV4 - UFO
- BMW X5 - SCEO - CEO
(images also in the gallery after the jump)
Here are some of the reactions of the manufacturers of the original cars about the Chinese copies.
Daewoo Matiz - Chery QQ
General Motors filed a lawsuit against China's Chery Automobile Company for piracy of The Matiz developed by its South Korean affiliate Daewoo.
Ken Wong, general counsel of GM Daewoo, said in the statement:
"Despite our good faith efforts and the assistance of the Chinese Government in the past year, Chery has been non-responsive to mediation efforts, and has even stepped up efforts to export the vehicle to other markets,"
Vauxhall Frontera - Landwind
There was talk about General Motors filing a lawsuit to stop the import into U.S.
Honda CRV - Laibao SRV
Honda China filed an action against Shuanghuan Auto Co., Ltd, Shijiazhuang, Hebei and its distributor Beijing Xuyang Hengxing Economic and Trade Co., Ltd on November 3, 2003.
Now, with the new Toyota and BMW copies, will we have two more lawsuits? We'll just have to wait and see. Mean while, watch the photo gallery after the jump for the Chinese copies and the originals and compare for your self.
