Fiat's Panda is the best selling minicar in Europe, and has been for four years. When China's Great Wall Motor -- Chrysler's Chinese partner -- decided to make a minicar called the GWPeri, it borrowed from the best. That is, if by "borrowed" you mean created a car that differs only from the Panda in it's headlamps and bumper details.Fiat didn't just do a double-take when it saw the GWPeri, it sued Great Wall Motor both in Italy and in China to prevent the car from being sold in Europe and China. A court in Turin recently decided that "the [GWPeri] does not look like a different car but is a Panda with a different front end." Furthermore, if a Peri ever shows up in Europe, GW will have to pay Fiat €15,000, with every GWPeri after that incurring a €50,000 fee.
Great Wall has already said it is going to contest the European verdict. The Chinese ruling hasn't come down yet, where the GWPeri went on sale earlier this year. Thanks for the tip!
[Source: Automotive World]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jason @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:05AM
Wow, I'm glad someone is putting their foot down and stopping the Chinese from blatantly ripping off ANOTHER car. I guess these will still be sold in China in great numbers?
I_Hate_China @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:16AM
Of course. Foreign IP are not respected at Chinese court, just ask GM and VW.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:03PM
I never saw a VW knockoff in China, but loads of real Santanas (Quantums). Chery QQ (Chevy Spark knockoffs) are common.
Kaptain75329 @ Jul 25th 2008 6:00PM
"I guess these will still be sold in China in great numbers?"
You can bet on it. China is capitalist friendly insofar as elements of it work to their benefit. Their current system is not sustainable, but they're gonna try to the bitter end, what with change being so slow and painful and all that.
At this rate, they oughta rename the country to "Zerox"
Nick @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:07AM
They look pretty different to me. Different rear pillar, completely different front. Doesn't seem like a complete rip-off anyway. There's only so much you can do with a compact car like that.
Atomicbri @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:10AM
Yeah but look up that car and see the inside, it is a direct copy of the entire Panda interior, right down to even the gauge set up. China is unbelievable in this area. I can't see how they want to be taken seriously by copying cars this blatantly.
PiCASSO @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:51AM
Check out the interiors:
Gwperi
http://www.gwperi.info/peri/gwperi_int_m.jpg
Panda
http://newcars.ua/images/gallery/Fiat/Panda/1024x768/Fiat_panda_int_2.jpg
And here's a back to back pic:
http://www.uncars.com/cartest/ktpc/images/2007/11/21/75933.jpg
Torrent @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:57AM
Except the Chinese Interior looks much better.
SimbaDogg @ Jul 23rd 2008 3:44PM
its things like this this, and many other global political decisions made by the country of china (continued support of Sudanese govt - "we'll buy your oil, as long as you continue to buy our weapons...who care about darfur") that make me not even afraid to say:
I HATE CHINA.
Zane @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:09AM
It may only have a different front end and D-pillar structure but what about the stuff that really matters? The build quality? Interior aesthetics? Amenities and features? Engine? They couldn't have copied EVERYTHING, could they?
I_Hate_China @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:08AM
Just as you don't expect a Suny Bravo TV set to be as good as a Sony Bravia TV set in spite of strikingly similar looks, Peri isn't as good as Panda, no doubt.
P.V. @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:21PM
I'm not sure about powertrain similarities.
With regard to the interior, someone posted above a back-to-back picture of the two interiors. They aren't identical, but they are strikingly similar.
I_Hate_China @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:15AM
This is how low Chrysler has gone under the management of Cerberus, dreaming of importing cheap clone cars like Chery(Whose piracy and IP theft activity is well documented in Malcolm Bricklin's lawsuit document against them), and Great Wall(Just been declared an auto pirate and banned in EU) and resell them for a 20% margin.
Atomicbri @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:11AM
Yep, pretty low... but honestly I don't think Chrysler will be around much longer.
Blake @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:26AM
Dude, this has nothing to do with Cerebus. This was an issue before they even came into the picture.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/27/bmw-joins-smart-in-threatening-copy-cat-chinese/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/21/mercedes-may-sue-over-chinese-smart-clone/
EVan @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:47AM
The Chery deal was initiated while Chrylser was still DaimlerChrysler... get your facts straight.
Brent @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:19PM
Chrysler isn't going to import any clones. Come on, don't be so stupid.
Leland Michaels @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:16AM
Obviously this isn't the first time that we've seen this type of "business model" and it makes me wonder how common this is across all industries in China. What allows this to be seen as a profitable and honest process? Is it a lack of government and industry regulation? Is it more difficult for businesses to sue one another over patents and copyrights in said countries? Is it because consumers want products that can't or won't be allowed to be imported and so local businesses rip off designs to bring said products to the local market? Why would anyone think that this works on a global scale?
I_Hate_China @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:22AM
> it makes me wonder how common this is across all industries in China.
Very common. Remember, China is still a "communist" country where the means of making money(Such as Intellectual Property) is shared by everyone.
> What allows this to be seen as a profitable and honest process?
China never had a concept of "Intellectual Property" for the past 4000 years. This is a very foreign and recent concept they still do not fully comprehend. For example, the word "Democracy" in Chinese language is a loan word from Japanese and is less than 100 years old, and Chinese understanding of "Democracy" is very different from ours.
> Is it more difficult for businesses to sue one another over patents and copyrights in said countries?
Chinese don't have concept of "Intellectual Property", so how can you sue another for the violation of it.
> Why would anyone think that this works on a global scale?
Most of these Chinese business executives never set a foot outside of China.
P.V. @ Jul 23rd 2008 9:55AM
Exactly. As there is no concept of "intellectual property rights" in the communist Chinese government, these sorts of things are allowed to be made.
Good for Fiat! At least they are actually doing something more than verbally condemning them.