BMW and Daimler say they will take legal action to defend themselves against Chinese
copies of their models, if in fact the knockoffs appear at the IAA auto show in Frankfurt in September as they are slated to.
These are the accused Chinese cars:
- CEO SUV. Similar to the BMW X5.
- UFO SUV. Similar to the Toyota RAV4.
- Noble compact. Similar to the Smart Fortwo.
To give you an idea, below are the Smart Fortwo (left) and the Noble (right).
The CEO SUV and the Noble are made by Shijiazhuang Shuanghuan Automobile Co.
The UFO SUV is made by Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co.
Daimler calls the Noble "a blatant attempt to copy the design of the Smart ForTwo, no matter how it was executed."
But in hearty glass-half-full fashion, this is all good news for the European importer of the cars.
The seemingly unfazed Karl Schloessl, CEO of China Automobile Deutschland, thinks the controversy will actually help sales of the knockoffs, which will be managed through a 100-dealer network in Germany starting in October.
"This discussion could be useful, as helps put our products on the same shelf with those from BMW and Smart".
