Update: Shuanghuan CEO SUV banned from Germany

Update: A regional court in Munich has ruled that the Shuanghuan CEO SUV, a vehicle that shares a striking resemblance to BMW’s X5, is no longer allowed to be sold in Germany. The ruling comes just weeks after Shuanghuan importer, China Automobile Deutschland, launched the new UFO and CEO models in Germany. The importer now has the opportunity to appeal but if it proves unsuccessful dealers will have to return their vehicles.

Original: The ensuing saga between industry giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz and China’s Shuanghuan has taken another turn, this time with BMW filing a law suit against the European importer of the CEO SUV. The vehicle in question shares an almost identical rear end with BMW’s X5, but, according to Shuanghuan, the design is perfectly legal because it was approved by the Chinese government.

The European importer for the car is China Automobile, whose CEO, Karl Schloessl, told Associated Press reporters that it was developed independently and that it bears no similarities with the X5 in either style or price. BMW begs to differ claiming most people wouldn’t recognize any differences between the CEO and X5 upon seeing the cars for the first time.

Mercedes-Benz is also preparing to take legal action against the importer of another Shuanghuan model, the Nobel minicar, which shares a striking resemblance with the Smart Fortwo. Last week, tire manufacturer Continental won a case against a Chinese company selling counterfeit versions of its tires in Europe, and that decision has now left the door open for BMW and Mercedes to prevent China’s clone cars from being sold in Europe.