Cut-price Chinese Car Copies
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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.
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