There's an interesting article over at China Car Times
(here
) about the stumbling blocks that the Chinese auto industry is facing as they try to become a world player. China Car Times
took a story that ran in the Shanghai Daily
on this subject. Straightline , other auto blog sites, and other auto and general interest news sites have commented on many of the problemsâbut as perceived by Western eyes. Now we have a Chinese perspective...
The Independent
(here
), which is from the UK, has summed up the outrage being felt in Europe by European carmakers and politicians alike.
"If a car suddenly appears that looks like a Smart, yet is not one but a copy which was produced not quite legally, then that is not great," observed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, noting that Chinese product piracy "is a relatively big issue".
Mark Binder, a Smart spokesman, said: "We saw the Shuanghuan vehicle at Auto Shanghai ... It is a blatant attempt to copy the design of the Smart Fortwo. We reserve the right to pursue legal action â also with regard to a possible exhibition of the car at the Frankfurt motor show."
In another related story
over at Autoblog
, China Auto, a European importer of Chinese vehicles almost got booted from the Frankfurt auto show as they were displaying a couple of their Chinese clones of European and Japanese vehicles. The Shuanghuan UFO (Toyota RAV4 copy) and CEO (mostly a copy of the BMW X5) SUVs are the vehicles in question at the show.
Even though the vehicles were allowed to remain on display, BMW is pursuing a lawsuit (here ) against the Chinese automaker. It's going to be interesting to see how China and the rest of the world responds here on this intellectual property issue. Oh, and let's not forget all the other problems such the faulty auto parts and crash safety. Yep, there are some pretty big bumps in the road ahead for China.
"If a car suddenly appears that looks like a Smart, yet is not one but a copy which was produced not quite legally, then that is not great," observed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, noting that Chinese product piracy "is a relatively big issue".
Mark Binder, a Smart spokesman, said: "We saw the Shuanghuan vehicle at Auto Shanghai ... It is a blatant attempt to copy the design of the Smart Fortwo. We reserve the right to pursue legal action â also with regard to a possible exhibition of the car at the Frankfurt motor show."
In another related story
over at Autoblog
, China Auto, a European importer of Chinese vehicles almost got booted from the Frankfurt auto show as they were displaying a couple of their Chinese clones of European and Japanese vehicles. The Shuanghuan UFO (Toyota RAV4 copy) and CEO (mostly a copy of the BMW X5) SUVs are the vehicles in question at the show. Even though the vehicles were allowed to remain on display, BMW is pursuing a lawsuit (here ) against the Chinese automaker. It's going to be interesting to see how China and the rest of the world responds here on this intellectual property issue. Oh, and let's not forget all the other problems such the faulty auto parts and crash safety. Yep, there are some pretty big bumps in the road ahead for China.
ateixeira says:
01:09 PM, 09/13/07
There are two sides to this problem, the other is the lack of consumer acceptance of cheap knock-offs. I don't see how this can be their future business plan.
It's time to come up with designs of their own. These clones are simply shameful.
actualsize says:
05:48 PM, 09/13/07
Stories like these don't do their credibility any good, that's for sure. And it can have a lasting effect.
Look at Hyundai: They've made decent stuff for several years, but Jay Leno and David Letterman can always get any easy laugh with a Hyundai joke. Once earned, a bad reputation is hard to overcome.
The Chinese would be well-advised to stop the Xeroxing of other designs and wait until their products are sorted-out before they start exporting.