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BMW to sue Chinese clone manufacturer, too

 
5 4,934 views Aug 27, 2007
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BMW to sue Chinese clone manufacturer, too

BMW to sue Chinese clone manufacturer, too

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Industry heavyweights BMW and Mercedes-Benz are planning to take legal action to stop Chinese copies of their cars being shown at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. China’s Shuanghuan, whose motto is “Fly your character - Run with your heart”, currently manufactures the CEO (a BMW X3 clone) as well as the Nobel Smart Fortwo copycat.

Last year Smart was able to stop another Chinese manufacturer from bringing another Smart clone on to the European market, and now BMW has issued a warning to Shuanghuan against the sale of the CEO in Italy, reports Automotive News.

As we’ve always said, it’s good to see Chinese carmakers are trying to develop cars for the world market. They just need to get to the stage where they can be accepted as original Chinese cars and not just a cheaper alternative to other more expensive brands.



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Comments (5)

  1. By James Posted: 8/27/2007 2:46pm PDT

    Some day the rest of the world will wake up and stop doing business with the Chinese. This is a country that simply doesn't respect other people's intellectual property and only plays nice because it wants to crib from your notes, then it'll kick you out while it copies your homework. We've all seen how unimaginably ugly "original" Chinese car designs are, however, so it comes as no surprise that they would copy Western designs. I wonder when the Chinese will realize that copying is no way to advance/improve their capabilities.
     
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  2. By Alex Posted: 1/16/2008 8:38pm PST

    ugh...the chinese been copying alot of european cars...WHEN WILL THEY LEARN THEIR CARS WILL ALWAYS BE RUBBISH THEY WILL NEVER MAKE A GOOD CAR....
     
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  3. By Charlie Posted: 2/17/2008 3:24am PST

    I really feel sorry for the racist people who regularly put comments up about things which they are totally ignorant. The design patents on the X3 expired some years ago. Once the patents expire the rights to the intellectual property disappear. That is why it is legal to make a copy of a car 50 years old. What the Chinese company did was perfectly legal. This is why BMW no longer manufactures the X3. Sam is absolutely right: copying has been common from the beginning of the car industry. Remember before cars - wooden carts. Would we say that somebody who built a wooden cart that looked like somebody else's would be guilty of intellectual property theft? This car is rather well engineered and quality crafted. It is a little underpowered and doesn't have the quality suspension that BMW has, but then again it is much cheaper than a BMW. Alex, you are really pitiful. The funny thing is your dad probably said the same thing about the Japanese 30 years ago. Get ready for an exciting show: the Chinese will be the worlds largest manufacturer of cars in another ... say 8 years tops. And they will have plenty of quality brands by then.
     
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  4. By admin Posted: 2/17/2008 7:52am PST

    Charlie - BMW still manufactures the X3. No design patents have expired since the car itself is still in production and the current model will remain until 2010.
     
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  5. ma_JOHN29 avatar JOHN29 Posted: 4/7/2009 6:25pm PDT

    Don't forget that's how the Jap's started by coping.from cars to motor bikes.

    also ford and other big companies do this.

    China will soon be a big player!

    These people that speak out about Chinese people, Have you ever been to China?
    I am English and have been living in China for 5 years teaching, The Chinese people have more respect for each then other people I know.
     
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