Filed under: SMART, Europe/EU, China, Daimler
Mercedes may pop smart fortwo clone lawsuit against the Bubble
Small Chinese automakers have developed the nasty habit of cloning the design and styling of successful European automobiles and placing that bodywork atop vastly inferior hardware. Although it doesn't seem right, there may be little that automakers like BMW and Daimler can do about it. Evidence of such can be seen in recent court cases, one of which was lost by a certain Bavarian automaker that sued to stop the European importation of a Chinese SUV with an eerie similarity to its own X5. Now that BMW has lost that case, Daimler's lawyers have reportedly attempted to settle the case with Martin Motors, which is the European importer for the Shuanghuan Bubble. That diminutive machine looks a great deal like the smart fortwo, but it may still go on sale in Europe sometime this month.
Currently, the Bubble is not allowed to be sold in Europe and the first few machines that were imported were detained in customs. If Daimler were to lose the lawsuit, it may be liable for damages to Martin Motors. Sure, it seems odd to us, but apparently the price - and likely quality - of the Bubble is so low that lawmakers believe there's no conflict, regardless of the value of intellectual property.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
renshcp 7:34AM (1/07/2009)
The Chinese government really needs to step up and put a stop to these clone cars produced inside China.. and that should stem the tide to Europe. If China want to be part of the world economy, you can't produce blatant rip offs. After all, they actually have fairly solid enforcement on fake LV bags now for example. Of course you can still find them, but they are not outwardly sold at the knock-off markets anymore. Why should knock off cars be any different. My company has asked the Chinese government to shut down a parts supplier selling fake oil filters with my companies logo on them, and they complied and went in there and actually arrested a couple guys as they shut down the factory. Why can't BMW, Smart, etc do the same thing here? There is the QQ, the X5 rip, the Smart, and there is a crap-mobile from Shanghai Maple Auto that has the rear end stolen directly from a CTS.
Reply
DJ 2:43PM (1/07/2009)
I wonder what the Italian's are going to say when a red two seater mid-engine sports car with the name Fukyu Firary and a dancing donkey for a logo shows up on their roads?
Reply