RX for Success... or lawsuit? China's BYD gets its Lexus tribute on
BYD S6 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Designing a car is such work... so why spend all that time and expense coming up with something new when the market is already awash with designs that are proven sellers? From the looks of things, China's BYD wants to sell cars, not spend time designing them. When it's luxury crossovers you're shilling, you might as well crib something that's well regarded – hence BYD's new S6, a crossover that closely apes the Lexus RX.
Looking like a mixture of RX generations, this Chinese knockoff continues its nation's tradition of styling appropriation. More intriguingly, BYD has apparently secured European copyrights to the design – a neat trick, copyrighting someone else's work. After all, we would have assumed that Lexus had already been afforded that protection.
The coup de grâce? BYD has gone and borrowed the CUV's name, too, although we're quite sure people won't mistake this for Audi's supersedan.
Gallery: BYD S6
[Source: Auto Sina via Carscoop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Hamhock 10:03AM (3/27/2009)
I can see cloning some of the all time design greats - I would take a knockoff of a Ferrari 330P4 or Dino GTS anyday...but the Lexus RX? C'mon....
Reply
Sektor 10:11AM (3/27/2009)
This is stupid. The image above is a Photoshop made by Chinese netizens; it's nothing official from BYD.
Boudu 10:26AM (3/27/2009)
How many people want to drive around in a Dino or 330P4 all day? They copy cars that actually sell, and the RX and crossover sport utilities sell.
@Sektor
Picture is exactly identical to what BYD has released. BYD also has the S3 which they showed at the Beijing Auto Show and its identical to the RAV4.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/03/china-byd-auto-launches-s6-lexus-rx.html
Victor 1:16PM (3/27/2009)
Father works with some major European/US/Jap/Kor car mfgrs. in Asia. When the Chinese subsidaries of GM, Toyota, VW, etc tear apart "copies" (like this), they find that the entire vehicle is just a reverse-engineered version of their original designs. This isn't anything new. Heck, you can even find pirated copies of cars....not design copies, but rather fake copies of legitmate cars.
JDMlover 8:33PM (3/27/2009)
The RX is really nice and it sells a lot....it looks good also, so why not?
kazoomaloo 10:04AM (3/27/2009)
It's odd, I just think I would be kind of embarrassed to run a company that blatantly copied other cars. It's one thing to be derivative, but to just totally copy designs that other companies worked hard to come up with and refine is just cheap and doesn't speak well of the company.
I guess, though, profits before pride or something. It just seems so... wrong. Well, we can at least count on these things crashing into all sorts of unique shapes, like perhaps squashed tin cans - BYD sure ain't putting their design budget savings into safety...
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Sektor 10:14AM (3/27/2009)
They actually are not doing too bad. The F3 got 3 stars, and the F6 got 6 stars crash test ratings.
Sektor 10:15AM (3/27/2009)
Stupid keyboard. The F6 got 4 stars.
superman211 11:42AM (3/27/2009)
Yeah, and why copy the ugliest cars? It looks like a legacy face on an RX body. That;s just wrong!
Wobbly_ears 10:07AM (3/27/2009)
Disgusting.
I mean, don't Chinese have some national pride? All these antics do is to cheapen the image of Chinese industry as pirates. That's what happens when you're a communist country without a strong regard for fairness & rule of law.
How different are the paths chosen by the emerging economic superpowers. India designs the Nano, cheap but a seminal engineering effort for developing countries. And then there's China; Lets rip off somebody & make some dough.
Disgusting.
Reply
Sektor 10:10AM (3/27/2009)
Interesting to see people judging China and Chinese people based on a company's actions. Or does GM and Chrysler reflect the US of A and American people? Give me a break.
Companies have no national interests. They are there for their own profit.
Wobbly_ears 10:24AM (3/27/2009)
Sektor,
No, I wasn't impinging on the Chinese people & you know that. But the fact is that copying of designs without permission takes place rampantly in China. From iPods to iPhones to Cars. No matter what your opinion on Intellectual Properties be, the fact that China, a member of WTO, does little to make sure that IPs are protected is troubling. I mean, BYD isn't the only company, isn't it? There's Chery with their Daewoo Matiz-knockoff & Geely etc. What about Meizu & their Opod & iphone knockoffs?
Chinese govt knows about the rampant theft of IP. Tell me in which other country can companies get away with this kind of behavior? Not in US, not in Europe, and yes, not in India.
The fact that Chinese govt is turing a blind eye towards these activities means that they condone the activity. And such activites make sure that the 'Chinese Designed' as a brand is being besmirched. When people associate Chinese Design==Copied, it can't be good long term.
My 0.02 Yuan
Sektor 10:32AM (3/27/2009)
To be fair, most of what you said is true; but as far as I know Geely never copied anybody. Their older cars are licensed Daewoos, but they do come up with their own designs. Look for the Geely GT concept, NL concept (SUV) and even the ugly Fengyin (Aztek 2.0); for example.
Also Chery is no longer copycatting. In fact, aside from the QQ (Matiz), I don't recall any other Chery that was a copy.
MGBYG 10:36AM (3/27/2009)
No sektor, ya asshole, the world sees America as Blackwater, ie Xe, and the actions of slime like them.
Indian companies create while Chinese companies copy. Dispute that.
Sektor 10:44AM (3/27/2009)
Let's correct that; shall we?
"A few Chinese companies copy, and they are given all the publicity. The end result is a general perception that ALL of them do." Most of these copycat cars come from small automakers that have a very small market share in China.
And the truth is, Chinese netizens feel disgusted when they see clones. If you can read it, go check Chinese car forums/blogs and their responses to copycat cars. It's a lot of bashing; exactly for this reason: few copiers will ruin the reputation of China as a whole.
hypermiler 10:49AM (3/27/2009)
@ Sektor
> Interesting to see people judging China and Chinese people based on a company's actions.
It is not a company, but pretty much all of Chinese auto companies.
Sektor 10:52AM (3/27/2009)
@hypermiler:
Again, what you see here is a much higher exposure to knockoffs, since it seems like it is always fun to point and laugh at China.
Actually, the companies that make these knockoffs you see have insignificant market share in China.
hypermiler 10:58AM (3/27/2009)
@ Sektor
> Actually, the companies that make these knockoffs you see have insignificant market share in China.
Chinese companies doing knockoffs
BYD : No. 1 Chinese brand
Chery : No. 2 Chinese brand
LiFan : In Top 10.
Sektor 11:13AM (3/27/2009)
@hypermiler:
Wrong, wrong, wrong! There is no way BYD is ahead of Chery, let alone be #1. If I can recall, Chery is around #4. Lifan is also NOT in the top 10.
BYD topped last month's sedan sales with the F3 (Corolla knockoff), but they are still far away from having major market share in the Chinese auto market.
Mike 11:51AM (3/27/2009)
HEY.. Depending on how you view our auto manufacturers.. I would say the US Auto companies DO represent the American People.
FOLLOW THE WHOLE POST HERE:
1. Produce EXCESS, GAS GUZZLERS JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN - Just like many American people are VERY wasteful. Long showers, gas guzzlers, throw anything 1 day old out, just because they think it's their right.
2. When they are building new cars, they make brand new facilities - instead of update their current ones. Don't we do this with buildings all the time? Go to Europe they have a sense of PRIDE and NOSTALGIA, while we REPLACE because it's easier.
3. Some car manufactures see their impact and mistakes - FORD, and try to correct them. Just like SOME Americans, we correct out mistakes.
I think our country is in major debt and just keep spending/borrowing JUST like our Auto Industry.
Our SS just pays out even though they know they can't continue it, just like the Auto companies with their pensions..
So yes.. I'd say businesses do reflect how a people are. And I know plenty of Chinese people here that brag about the "new bootleg" Iphone, Movie etc that they have and can import. R4's for the DS get shipped here as "memory card readers", knockoff handbags (which Coach etc are rip offs anyway).
SO yes I truly believe that the government and business in China want to profit as well as their younger generation by any means necessary. I have watch specials on Nat Geographic Channel where the younger people say "I don't care about them, I don't care about the environment, my life is better than my parents so that's all that matters".