Chinese copycat cars

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Chinese copycat cars



As China’s car market booms, we look at the shameless lookalikes Chinese car makers are selling - and see if they are legal

The Chinese car industry is a very big deal. In 2013, China produced a whopping 18.7 million cars, which equates to 22.7 per cent of global car production for that year. Many of those models were from brands familiar to western car buyers, some were from companies we’ve never heard but it's a third group we're interested in here. These are cars we've never heard of that still seem to look strangely familiar, these are the Chinese copycat cars.

• Shanghai Motor Show 2015: news round-up

Chinese domestic car brands have a less than proud history of copying car designs from other manufacturers. Some are blatant rip-offs others are more subtle homages to the original. From MINI lookalikes to cut-price Range Rover Evoques and even an attempt at the grandeur of a Rolls-Royce, we’ve picked out some of the closest imitations and put them side-by-side with their doppelgangers.

Scroll down the page for our pick of the recent Chinese copycat cars...



China's copycat cars: are they legal?
We spoke to Oliver Tidman, a solicitor at intellectual property law firm BRIFFA, to find out what legal standing a car maker has if it thinks its design has been copied by another.

“There is no international copyright law,” he told us, “but there are international agreements such as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. These require countries to recognise each other’s intellectual property laws.

“Copyright laws vary from one country to another, and while the rules may differ, the principles are similar.”

And it’s not simply a material object that would be the subject of breaking copyright law, but the original design itself. “In the UK, copyright law protects certain types of work, including artistic,” Tidman added. “In terms of car designs, it’s likely that copyright would subsist in any original 2D graphic – on a computer screen or a drawing.”

If a company does think a design has been copied, however, it’s not that easy to prove. “The company would have to prove that there has been copying by assessing the objective similarities and deciding whether those similarities are the result of independent creation, or whether the infringing design has been derived from the original design,” said our expert. “There must be a causal connection between the two works, which can be difficult to prove.”

In addition to copyright protection, it is possible to register designs. “If the design or prototype is deemed original, it is possible to obtain registered design protection for up to 25 years,” Tidman explained.

Copycat cats: Do these look familiar?
Check-out the copycat cars below, alongside the models they seem to have drawn inspiration from...

Zotye E30 and Smart ForTwo
Small electric cars were everywhere at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show, and the one getting the most attention was this. Clearly mixing the looks of a Smart – and its distinctive Tridion safety cell – the E30 also sports a knock-off Tesla Model S-style large tablet screen in the dashboard. Slightly smaller and wider than the Smart, the E30 has an electric driving range of around 93 miles with a top speed nudging 50mph.

Copied: Smart ForTwo

Copycat: Zotye E30

LandWind X7 and Range Rover Evoque
You’ll have no doubt heard all about the LandWind X7. It’s a highly convincing copy of the Range Rover Evoque but we suspect that the Brits probably wouldn’t offer their premium compact SUV in quite this lurid shade of green.

While the outside is near-Evoque in looks, the interior isn’t – but despite this, Land Rover is understandably not happy. With an asking price of around £14,000 the X7 could well take sales away from the now locally-produced Evoque which costs some £35k more.

Copied: Range Rover Evoque

Copycat: LandWind X7

G Patton and Hummer
With a name relating to George S. Patton, the famous and highly-respected US Army General who commanded the Seventh Army during World War 2, there’s no doubting which country the G Patton is inspired by.

The 19-foot long 4x4 mixes a whole number of classic and American off-roaders as well as bespoke Army vehicles. It can come as a seven-seater or with a cinema in the back and two luxury chairs, and it’s powered by a 6.8-litre V10 producing 357bhp.

Copied: Hummer

Copycat: G Patton

 

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Hongqi LS5 and Range Rover
The Hongqi LS5 proves that the Evoque isn’t the only Range Rover product China seems so keen on, but also the big daddy of the range. Sitting alongside the bizarrely-styled L5 limo, the LS5 uses the previous generation Range Rover as its styling model, just stretched a bit to suit more Chinese tastes.

There’s even a hint of the Jeep Grand Cherokee at the front too. Inside, the passengers are treated to lots of luxury gizmos along with a dashboard that has a passing resemblance to – surprise, surprise – an old Range Rover’s. Under the bonnet is a turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol pushing out around 510bhp.

Copied: Range Rover

Copycat: Hongqi LS5

Eagle and Porsche Cayman
The Eagle is a car designed to show off the country’s expertise in producing an electric sports cars, but there’s no getting away from which cars the designer has taken his cues from. We believe it’s powered by a tiny battery pack that gives just a top speed of around 70mph and a 160-miles range – a sharp contrast to the looks.

There’s no getting away from how much like the Eagle looks like aPorsche Cayman with a Ferrari F12 nose grafted on. Even the badge is a near copy of the Porsche’s iconic golden shield.

Copied: Porsche Cayman

Copycat: Eagle

JAC A6 and Audi A6
While some companies won’t let on just which car they might be imitating, it seems that JAC was quite happy to own up when it badged its latest release the A6. Yes, that’s right, the A6.

Not only does it have the exact same name as the Audi A6 saloon, but it looks very similar to the original model. It’s the grille and stepped headlights that really give the game away.

Copied: Audi A6

Copycat: JAC A6

BAIC X424 and Jeep Cherokee
Another model that looks more like a merging of two cars than just a single copy of one. The BAIC X424 has a hint of the Jeep Cherokee at the front with the large grille openings, while the side profile is clearly taken from the rugged Wrangler model. Perhaps the company felt that customers wouldn’t be happy with just one Jeep and instead wanted the best of both.

Copied: Jeep Cherokee

Copycat: BAIC X424

 

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BYD S7 and Lexus RX
While some imitations are fairly obvious at a glance, others are disguised a little better. The BYD S7 may not have the look of theLexus RX from the front, but there’s no hiding the similarities towards the rear, with the same curved windows, small spoiler and tail-lights. BYD has done a decent job of keeping this quiet, but not good enough.

Copied: Lexus RX

Copycat: BYD S7

Geely GE and Rolls-Royce Phantom
Fancy the luxury of a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but don’t quite have the £305,000 to cover the costs? Well the Geely GE might just be the thing for you. It’s got the big chrome grille and even an imitation Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet. Just make sure nobody gets too close to see what it actually is.

Copied: Rolls-Royce Phantom

Copycat: Geely GE

Lifan 330 and MINI
The round headlights, that front grille and the cheeky hatchback shape... the Lifan 330 has more than a hint of the second-generation MINI Cooper about it. When it was launched at April’s Beijing Motor Show, even the press release hailed the car as fashionable, artistic and with ‘mini’ temperament. Lifan was just ahead of the British brand with the five-door bodystyle, however, but that’s no excuse.

Copied: MINI

Copycat: Lifan 330

Chery Riich M1 and Toyota Yaris
The Chery Riich M1 is a small hatchback designed for inner city commuters. While the front end is ugly enough to not really resemble anything on UK roads, the curvaceous side profile and rear of the car look like a direct lift from the Toyota Yaris MkII. Fortunately for Toyota that’s where the similarities end, and it’s unlikely to ever be any real competition to the established – and far more attractive – hatchback.

Copied: Toyota Yaris

Copycat: Chery Riich M1

 

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These Are China's Most Shameless Knockoffs

Raphael Orlove
Filed to: CHINESE CARS4/22/13 4:28pm

The Chinese auto industry is famous for its knockoffs. Hell, the whole Chinese manufacturing industry is famous for its knockoffs. These are the best clones from the recent 2013 Shanghai Auto Show.

Truth be told, Chinese carmakers are a lot better than they used to be about making knockoff designs. Back in 2006, it seemed like every week there was a new lawsuit from BMW or Fiat or whomever that their designs were being poached in the Wild Wild East.

Now China is filled with joint venture partnerships so that Western companies can allow Chinese companies to build their old designs by license.

Moreover, genuinely new car designs were popping up all through the show, though at times that didn't seem like a good thing. The purple convertible below from Tongji Auto kind of makes you with they'd just slapped a new grill on a Chrysler 200 or something and called it a day.

Another example of new-school Chinese thinking comes from theShenbao D-series. Under the skin it's an old Saab 9-5, but it gets a whole new look. Not a bad car.

But when you get into the more off-brand car companies at this year's Shanghai Auto Show, you still find ripoffs as good as any.

The above van looks like a Toyota HiAce, a van we don't get in the States, but is popular everywhere else. It's so popular that Foton decided to make a near picture-perfect copy called the MP-X S. Here it is marketed by Foton's parent company BAW as a BAW 009.

Confusingly, this dark blue van is neither a Foton, nor a Toyota, though it is a HiAce. It's a Jinbei, a company that is part of a joint venture with Toyota producing genuine HiAces under license.

Joint ventures also add confusion to this Beijing Auto E-series. Mercedes and Beijing Auto have a joint venture called Beijing Benz. This E-series is a Mercedes, but not the one you think it is. It appears identical to the old2005-2011 B-Class (if it's not familiar to you, it was never sold in America), but under the skin it's actual a Mercedes-designed Smart ForFour (another car we never got Stateside).

The body so closely resembles a Mercedes, though, that all you need to do is stick on a three-pointed star and you'll fool anyone into thinking you have more money than you do.

There is nothing fancy about the BYD S7. It looks exactly like a Lexus RX crossover, but it's just different enough to not count as a patent violation.

This Hawtai B35 looks like a cross between a Porsche Cayenne and a Hyundai. It turns out that the Hyundai connection makes sense, because Hawtai used to have a joint venture with Hyundai and this SUV is based off of the Santa Fe. The Porsche body is just a knockoff, though.

 

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This Lifan 630 is either ripping off the front end of a Nissan Sentra or anew Lexus sedan. Let's just say that if you threw those two western cars into a blender, you'd end up with something like this.

Lifan is known for one of the most blatant knockoffs in the history of the Chinese auto industry. Their 320 has been around for years, blatantly copying the Mini Cooper. Now they decided to fix the whole situation by giving it a light facelift. We are not convinced.



Chinese Mini Cooper Clone Revealed By Lifan, Takes Badge-Copying To New Level Of Crazy
OK, we thought the Beijing Auto Works B60 was a great example of the badge-copying madness out of…Read more

The final act of copycat car design we'll cover is the Great Wall Kulla electric car. Since it's a concept car, Great Wall could have made the Kulla look like absolutely anything they wanted to. Instead they decided to make it look exactly like a Renault Twizy, from the single light strip across the rear, the separate wheels, and the pebble-shaped mini-doors.

Renault did indeed bring a Twizy to the Shanghai show, which must have been awkward.

So there has been improvement, but the Chinese car industry still has a long way to go.

Photo Credits: Newspress

These Are China's Most Shameless Knockoffs

 

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It’s a knock-off! China’s copycat cars at the 2015 Shanghai motor show
Published: 20 April 2015

More info on Land Rover Evoque

► Bumper gallery from the 2015 Shanghai motor show
► Amazing assortment of not-all-that-original designs
► Join us for a game of 'guess which car influenced this'

China is famous for many things, just some of which include The Great Wall, Terracotta soldiers, tasty food, and a cuddly and intimate definition of ‘personal space’. But when it comes to cars, the most famous thing China is famous for is building vehicles that look remarkably like those designed by other people. You might even call it uncanny.

Is this practice really as rife as the internet makes out, though? Honestly, not really – yet the 2015 Shanghai motor show is still littered with home-grown machinery that will on occasion cause you to cock your head and go, ‘is it me, or does that look like a…?’

Don’t believe us? Try this little lot out for size – some of which may well be quite legitimately built under licence, other’s most definitely not so much. Obviously (and for legal reasons…) we’re not actually accusing anyone of anything here, but see if you spot any unusual resemblances…

Let’s kick things off with BAIC, and one hell of a way to go camping. There is actually a Mercedes-Benz logo displayed on the stand, if that gives you a clue.

But there isn’t any sign of a Jeep one.

Quite why anyone would want to take styling cues from the current Cherokee is a bit of mystery, either way.

Moving on to Zotye. Does this remind you of anything?

What about this?

Audi round the front…

Rangie round the back?

 

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It looks like an Astra VXR…

…is in fact only powered by a 1.6-litre engine. Still good for 197bhp, though – aided and abetted by the quad-exit Akropovic exhaust and double-deck ‘carbonfibre’ spoiler. Technically, this isn’t a copy, but a Chinese-market Buick (both brands are part of GM); Buick seems to sell well in Shanghai.

Does Dongfeng have a licence to locally build Hummers?

The answer is kinda – AM General Motors did apparently assist the firm with parts initially. Dongfeng means Eastwind, incidentally. And that’s technically known as an EQ2050.

Handbags at the ready – it’s the Lincoln Continental concept that caused an online spat between Bentley and Lincoln at New York. Who says this copycatting thing has to be exclusively Chinese?

Ah. Now this is quite remarkable. That’ll be a Ferrari from the front then…

…but a Porsche Cayman everywhere else. It’s called the Eagle Came, as lovingly scribed in authentic tribute Carrera script on the back.

Give them a break – the other vehicle on the stand looks like this. They need all the inspiration they can get.

 

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Aww, it’s a tiny Transit. We’ve seen this DFSK C35 before, at this year’s Geneva motor show. And yes, that was a Despicable Me reference.

Since we’re on the subject of vans, fancy one with a BMW front end?

How about a Dodge front end instead, then?

This one’s more JDM Honda.

It could be worse. But we digress. Thanks to Brilliance for that little lot.

The Event K50. Possibly not quite pulling off the Bugatti paint job.

It’s a Lotus Elise copy! No, wait – it’s a Detroit Electric SP01, which is a Lotus Elise, with an electric motor.

Hmm. If we tell you it’s got a spare wheel bolted to the back, does it begin to look familiar?

 

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Another curious choice in 2015. But Hawtai’s early Santa Fe replica was built by arrangement with Hyundai.

Part Jeep, part Range Rover, all attitude.

Is it just us, or does this Zhonghua V3 look like a giant Skoda Fabia? It’s just us, isn’t it?

The rather awesomely named Leopard has carved a niche supplying nearly but not quite SUVs, it seems.

Leopard again. The one behind is an interesting blend of Land Rover front and Porsche Cayenne rear as well.

And finally, we reach the piece de resistance, the Landwind X7. Complete with eight-speed automatic transmission.

Funny thing is, we saw loads of genuine Evoques on the roads around Shanghai. Didn’t see a single Landwind X7…

Perhaps that’s why Landwind has left it to someone else to have a go at the new Discovery Sport.

 

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Enter Linfan Auto with the X70. Remarkable.
CJ Hubbard

Associate editor, road tester, organiser, extremely variable average wheel count

It’s a knock-off! China’s copycat cars at the 2015 Shanghai motor show by CAR Magazine

 

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China Manufactures Copycat Cars of Audi, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce and Many more..
Aswathy Gopinath Jun 19, 2015 2,652 Views

In 2013 alone, the Chinese car industry produced 18.7 million cars, amounting for 22.7% of the total cars produced in the world, making it one of China’s biggest industries.

The Chinese car market manufactures cars of internationally renowned brands as well as those that are potentially unheard of. However, they also deal in another group of cars: they may look unsettlingly familiar, but rest assured that they are not; the car you thought was a Range Rover Evoque was but the Chinese equivalent copycat car by the name of LandWind X7.

Geely GE:Rolls-Royce Phantom. Image source: © Associated Press | Rolls-Royce
Manufacturing of copycat cars is something that China and its local car markets have indulged in since quite a while now. Some of these cars are very obvious copies of some of the more internationally renowned brands, while some pay subtle, albeit highly conspicuous homages to the original. Some of the grander cars they have drawn inspiration from include the Mini Cooper, the Range Rover Evoque, and a Rolls- Royce model.

Irrespective of how widespread this practice might be in China, its legality remains dubious. Oliver Tidman, solicitor at BRIFFA says –“There is no international copyright law, but there are international agreements such as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. These require countries to recognise each other’s intellectual property laws.” According to him, although copyright laws across the world may differ from country to country, the basic principles remain the same.

Lifan Motors 320:Mini Countryman. Image courtesy: © Mini | Newspress
In fact, not only the copied object, but the original design too would be subject to breaking of the copyright law. In places such as the UK, copyright law protects artistic works; Tidman says that car design copyrights would exist in “2D graphic – on a computer screen or a drawing.”

Hawtaiorsche Cayenne. Image source: Hawtai/Porsche Cayenne
However, were any of the original brands to suspect that the designs for any of their cars have been copied, it would be difficult to prove it: to do so, the company will have to inspect and compare the visible similarities individually and decide whether those are the result of independent creation or whether the design has, in fact, been copied from the original. “There must be a causal connection between the two works, which can be difficult to prove,” says Tidman.

If, however, one of these cars does manage to be deemed an original, it can get its design registered, thus being eligible to obtain registered design protection lasting up to 25 years!

Great Wall Peri:Nissan Note. Image courtesy: © Nissan | Flickr | Order 242
The number of cars that Chinese car manufacturers have copied thus far is too vast to list. However, the imitators are available to the public in prices much less than what the original would cost: for instance, the LandWind X7 – a clear copy of the Range Rover Evoque – costs about £14,000; an original Range Rover, on the other hand, costs approximately £35,000 more, and this is perhaps one of the reasons why the general public seems to prefer the copies to the originals.

Landwind X7 and Range Rover Evoque. Image courtesy: © Land Rover | @Siya_Papu | Twitter
Some other cars Chinese car manufacturers have copied are the Smart ForTwo, the Hummer, the Porsche Cayman, the Audi A6, the Jeep Cherokee, and the BMW X1; the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the MINI Cooper haven’t been spared either.

Dongfeng EQ2050:Hummer. image courtesy: © Hummer | Flickr | Abdullah AlBarga

CH Auto Lithia:Audi R8. Image courtesy: © Audi | Newspress

BYD S8/Mercedes-Benz CLK. Image courtesy: © Flickr | Burt Van Dijk | Mercedes-Benz

 

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Brilliance V5/BMW X1. Image source: © BMW | Newspress

Beijing Auto Shenbao D320:Mercedes E-Class. Image courtesy: © Newspress | Mercedes-Benz
Images taken from: www.msn.com
Chinese Car Manufacturers Are Selling Copycat Cars!

 

[Muhammad Omar]

Aha M Goona buy Land Wind

How about their performance?? and Quality?

 

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Top 10 Copycat cars
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I’ve gathered 10 cases of ultimate flattery in autos here, where the industrial design of one is blatantly copied onto another. Here you go, the showdown of the look-alike cars (and a bus):

1. Daewoo Matiz vs Chery QQ

This one was so extreme, some parts of one car fit into the other (e.g. door panel, bonnet etc).

2. Vauxhall Frontera vs Landwind

3. Honda CRV vs Laibao SRV

Check out the semi-Audi front logo too!

4. Mercedes C vs Geely Merrie 300

The Geely was shown in an auto exhibition. I don’t think it was eventually produced looking like this though.

5. Neoplan Starliner vs Zonda A9

6. Rolls-Royce Phantom vs Hongqi HQD

7. Smart vs er. Chinese Smart

8. Toyota Prado vs Dadi Shuttle

 

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9. Nissan XTrail vs Greatwall Sing

10. BMW 7 vs BYD F6

For this, the copying is not so drastic except the lights, but it does get brownie points for imitating the badge as well.

11. Bonus! Toyota Logo vs Geely Logo

Toyota sued and won though.

Top 10 Copycat Cars | Gems Sty

Aha M Goona buy Land Wind

How about their performance?? and Quality?

Chinese standard of quality, performance, durability and safety!!!