China Automobile nearly kicked out of Frankfurt

[Flybrian 0]

Rumormill: China Automobile almost kicked out of Frankfurt show?

Sep 12th 2007 3:35PM | Alex Nunez | Link to Original Article @ Autoblog

According to UK-based media service Headline Auto, one of the hot rumors flying around the Auto Messe in Frankfurt earlier this morning was that China Automobile, the German importer for Chinese automaker Shuanghuan, was going to get booted out of the exhibit hall. The controversy stems from some bad blood brewing between Shuanghuan and the mainstream manufacturers whose designs it blatantly, unashamedly copies. On display in Frankfurt are the Shuanghuan UFO and CEO SUVs. UFO is a Toyota RAV4 clone, and CEO is a 95% copy of the BMW X5. (We say 95% because Shuanghuan apparently elected to copycat Mercedes-Benz for the CEO's front end design.)

In the end, China Automobile Deutschland got to stay at the show, but Shuanghuan still faces potential trouble ahead, as BMW is considering legal action against the company.

[PurdueGuy 72]

Good. They want to rip off other peoples' designs in their own country, that's insulting. They want to export those ripoffs to other countries, that's downright infuriating.

[MyerShift 7]

Damn it. It would serve them right if they were banned to their own country and never allowed out for their copies.

SHAME!

[Oracle of Delphi 33]

Damn it. It would serve them right if they were banned to their own country and never allowed out for their copies.

SHAME!

Are you kidding me? Greed will prevail, BMW will not forsake the potential mega profits in Mainland China for some small monetary gain just to prove a point in court. Sad but true!

[avant1963 39]

All bow to your new masters, China. They can do whatever they want because we let them buy out everything. Thank the Milton Freedman's of the world for believing in Globalism.

[cletus8269 69]

i wonder if the CEO has the lead based paint delete option... arent these the guys that had the rip off canyonrados last year? Edited September 14, 2007 by cletus8269

[Mr Plow 2500HD 0]

just wait until they buy chrysler or even ford, the game is chinas to lose. Very driven culture where govenment is pushing industry instead of stepping on it...are they the one with that c class clone 2 years ago, and the rx300/torrent abomination last year?

Edited September 14, 2007 by Mr Plow 2500HD

[ejobrien 0]

This is rediculous, Maybe they copied other companies designs because all thiers are as ugly as dirt and they can't sell any of them.

[Sixty8panther 14]

Japan's been doing this for years... granted they were a little bit more subtle...

Those who do not learn from their mistakes are bound to repeat them.

I hate these Chinese POS, if they made a 300HP car for $4,000 I'd still tell em to burn in hell.

[Sixty8panther 14]

http://www.automotoportal.com/photos/chine...rn-automakers/3

[Diehard GrandPrix Fan 1]

BMW and Mercedes aren't the only ones that Chinese copied. Hey, everyone's doing it these days you say? No, what the Chinese are doing is way beyond that. They just build the EXACT same car to every inch of the spec without any change, remove the original brand's logo, put their own and call it their own. Korea's Daewoo and Kia are also the victim of it. Daewoo's Matiz was ripped off by Chery Motor's by their model called QQ. Which is about 98% copy and sold for lot less in China. The Chinese also imported Kia Sorento, removed the badging and replaced it with their own and claimed it it's their's saying 'China's version of Kia Sorento'. It's gone too far to the fashion that it is just pitiful. Chinese should be banned from the automotive market if they are not going to design their own cars. Especially if they want to export any of them, since all they would face is the lawsuit if they continue to do this.