Cut-price Chinese Car Copies

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/b...62?source=This
#

Chinese manufacturers are producing a spate of look-a-like models - aping
everything from the Mercedes S-class to the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

As with any goods made in China, the vehicles are being rolled out at
knock-down prices ... which has left European and Japanese car makers
feeling rather more threatened than flattered.

Some manufacturers, including Vauxhall's parent company Genera -Motors, have
resorted to legal action in the Chinese courts over breach of copyright and
patents - but rarely with success.

At the top end of the market, the Chinese are producing a version of the
Rolls-Royce Phantom named the Red Flag.

While the Phantom is one of the ultimate symbols of capitalism costing
£250,000, the Red Flag 'People's Roller' copy can be had for £130,000 - half
the price. The Chinese BYD F6 saloon bears more than a passing resemblance
to the BMW 7 series - even down to the blue-and-white bonnet badge which
apes the BMW ' propeller' logo.

ShuangHuan Auto has created a version of Honda's Swindon-built CR-V
off-roader. So incensed was Honda that it sued ShuangHuan, which in turn
counter-sued.

In Britain, the CR-V costs about £18,000. The copycat Laibao S-RV sells for
less than a third of that, around £5,700.

Other popular cars replicated by the Communist regime include the Peugeot
307 and Volkswagen Passat.

Wendelin Wiedeking, chairman of the executive committee of Porsche in
Germany, said: 'Years ago Americans taught the Chinese how to make fridges.
What did the Chinese do? They produced the same machines under different
names to harm the original manufacturer.

'I point out that these Chinese manufacturers are among the leaders in the
marketplace for fridges today in the US - and the same can happen with
cars.'

Last autumn, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation paid MG Rover £67m
for the rights to the blueprints for the Rover 75 and 25, as well as the K-
series engine which powers them.

With Rover in administration, the Chinese company is planning to build more
than 321,000 Rover 75s over the next five years and has approached UK
companies to quote to supply parts.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/b...62?source=This
#

"LC" wrote in message
...
Cut-price Chinese Car Copies

SEE THEM HERE!

http://www.chinesecars.net/index.php?page=6

This will BLOW YOUR MIND !!!!!!!

http://www.chinesecars.net/index.php?page=8

http://www.sgautomotive.com/ (Chinese copy of a Dodge Durango)

Wheeeeeee !!!!!!1

So what? If China wants to make knockoffs of US and European cars, then
that's their business.

One of the first lessons I learned in radio many years ago is that there are
no original ideas. Truly creative people can reverse engineer a product and
make it even better or produce it for less money. Here in the US, we have
our own copyright laws. In China, they have their own legal system. If they
want to make what we consider illegal copies, then that's up to them. And
while I am glad I live in the US, I don't agree with the greedy attorneys of
the RIAA and MPAA who go way too far enforcing US copyright laws without
being able to view fair use through common sense-colored glasses once in a
while.

GM sues Chinese firm for copying

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4528565.stm

General Motors is suing a former unit of Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corporation for copying a car design.

GM Daewoo, a South Korean unit of GM, said China's SAIC Chery Automobile had
copied the Daewoo Matiz's body structure in its Chery QQ model.

The Korean firm said it wanted 80m yuan ($9.7m; £5.1m) in compensation.

The case - accepted by a Beijing Court, according to Chinese state media -
is sensitive because GM and SAIC are involved in a major joint venture.

Damage limitation

The QQ appears to be similar to the Daewoo Matiz (and to GM's Chevrolet
Spark, which is based on the Matiz).

GM Daewoo said tests showed the body structure, interior and exterior design
of the QQ and many of its components were very similar to the Matiz. It
added that many parts were interchangeable between the two cars.

SAIC Chery denied the allegations, saying it spent more than a year
developing its QQ car. It added it has up to 24 design patents on the model.

GM Daewoo began suing Chery last December in Shanghai, but transferred the
suit to Beijing after Chery complained on jurisdiction grounds.

GM Daewoo had tried to resolve the dispute through mediation for a year and
only resorted to the courts when this failed, the company said.

SAIC, which spent £67m buying car designs from collapsed UK carmaker Rover,
held a 20% stake in Chery.

But it sold the holding late last year in what was thought to be a
damage-limitation exercise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4528565.stm

....
The chairman of the China Construction Bank, China's largest property
lender, and the senior official who heads the government company that owns
it, complained recently that the Communist party's role was hampering their
efforts to reform the bank.

The Communist party's control has made it difficult for companies to
establish a corporate culture and ethos, as well as SUBVERTING THEIR
DECISIONS TO BROAD POLITICAL AIMS.
....
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b5f0fbc6-c0...00e2511c8.html
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