The Chinese court's decision said that GWM had established noticeable differences from the Fiat Panda, and that entitles the company to build the car unmolested. Fiat was also ordered to pay $1,291 in legal fees, reports Automotive News Europe. Fiat still has three weeks left to appeal the decision, and a spokes man says it "is currently evaluating a number of options on how to proceed."
Original: The Chinese clone cars aren't faring well of late, with the Shuanghuan CEO getting booted out of Germany and now the Great Wall Motors GWPeri minicar receiving a Europe-wide ban from a Turin court. The news is no doubt welcomed by the major manufacturers that have been prosecuting the copy-cat designs for several years, but it's also a setback for the nascent Chinese car industry's effort to break into the European market.
Great Wall's ban comes alongside a 15,000 fine for the one GWPeri, a Fiat Panda clone, that has been imported into Europe so far. Any further importations would be penalized with a 50,000 fine - per car, reports Automotive News Europe. The ruling of the Turin court held that the GWPeri was so similar to the Panda - only a minor difference in the front end - that it would be in violation of Fiat's intellectual property rights to the Panda design if it were offered for sale in Europe.
As is usual with such cases, an appeal is planned.
For more background on the German ban of the Shuanghuan CEO, a copy of BMW's X5, and other Chinese clone cases, read our previous coverage.
Reader Comments
Fri Jul 18 2008 4:52 PM
mike says
I have nothing against the Chinese, but you'd think someone there could come up with an original design. It seems the entire Chinese auto industry is based upon horrifyingly cheaply built copies of other companies' designs.
Sat Jul 19 2008 5:31 PM
Paul says
This car is similar to the Fiat, but it is not a clone. This is a political decision, not an intellectual property decision. The Chinese have time on their side.
Mon Jul 28 2008 5:36 PM
NoNameDenton says
It is a clone, the reason Fiat lost is because the Communist government is protecting a Chinese business.
Tue Jul 29 2008 12:11 AM
Paul says
This reminds me of the Japanese entry into Europe in the 1970s and the various protectionist measure the different European states used to limit the flow of Japanese imports. It ended with the Japanese establishing manufacturing plants and joint ventures on European soil, and with the improvement in design and quality of European cars. Many Japanese cars then were similar in style, but not identical, to Euro models. The GreatWall has similar proportions to the Fiat in the way that the first Lexus LS 400 was suspiciously similar in proportion to the S class Mercedes. They are alike but not identical. The Europeans have at a pretty good run at the Chinese market so its not surprising the Chinese want a little bit of return traffic. All that said, I can see a new round of old fashioned trade protectionism brewing as nations work to save what employing industries they have in the economic Armageddon that is unfolding right now.
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