Toyota Files European Patents for Yaris Sedan, HiLux, Fortuner and Innova MPV Designs

In a previous post we told that you that China’s Great Wall Motors successfully managed to file a European patent on the design of its Toyota Ractis lookalike, the Feel Free minivan (read about it here). Even though Toyota has no plans of importing its Yaris based MPV to Europe, we’re pretty sure that the Japanese firm’s execs won’t be at all happy with this development.

In our search to find out if Toyota has patented any designs at the European trademark office, we discovered that a few weeks prior to Great Walls Motors’ filing, the Japanese automaker had registered the designs of the Yaris Sedan, HiLux pickup truck, the Fortuner SUV and the Innova MPV. With the exception of the HiLux that is already available in Europe, we seriously doubt that Toyota has any intentions of selling the other models on the Old Continent. -Continued

Which leaves with us a question: did Toyota actually register the design patents because they new something was up and if yes, why didn’t they do the same with other models including the Ractis and especially the Scion range since Great Wall Motors has already created clones of the xA and xB models?

Toyota HiLux


Toyota Yaris Sedan


Toyota Innova MPV


Toyota Fortuner SUV

Unbelievable: China’s Great Wall Motors Patents Toyota Ractis Clone Design in Europe!

Oh the irony; China’s Great Wall Motors whose GWPeri minicar was recently banned from Europe because its appearance was ruled to be too similar to that of the Fiat Panda, has successfully managed to patent the design of the Feel Free minivan at the European Patent Office! Now, the reason that we’re surprised is that Great Wall Motor’s Feel Free minivan that was shown in pre-production form earlier this year at the Beijing Show is essentially a generic copy of the Toyota Ractis, a subcompact minivan that’s based on the Yaris minicar and sold in Japan.

Don’t believe us? Then just check the photo album after the jump. As with the GWPeri, the Chinese automaker’s design team (…) simply made a few alterations to the front and rear end styling of the Ractis and presto; the all new Feel Free (to copy) minivan. We can’t even begin to imagine how awkward the Toyota folks must feel after this development… -Continued

Great Wall Motors Feel Free Patent Designs

Toyota Ractis Minivan

China’s JAC Auto is at it again...

If there’s one Chinese carmaker that knows how to make an automotive mixed grill, that has to be JAC Auto. After the Skoda-Mercedes-Lexus thingamajig called the C240 -click here- that appeared at the 2007 Shanghai Show (and who knows how many other products like it), JAC Auto strikes again with a monstrosity part Lancia Thesis, part Ford Taurus, part… well, we’ll let you decide for yourselves what other car this vehicle reminds you of. -Continued


Via: Jalopnik , Source: chesi

Rolls Royce Opens Sixth Showroom in China

Business is going well for Rolls-Royce in China as the luxury automaker officially opened its sixth showroom today in the most populated and economically diverse country in the world. The new showroom is located in the city Hangzhou and is situated in a commercial area opposite a famous tourist attraction known as the West Lake. With a floor space of over 400 sq.m, it can accommodate up to four Rolls-Royce models. Other Rolls-Royce showrooms in Greater China are located at Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. -Continued

Speaking at the showroom grand opening, Tom Purves, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Chief Executive Officer said, “This latest milestone is the first of several showroom openings which we announced in our Asia Pacific expansion plan at AutoChina 2008 in Beijing, earlier this year."

China ‘Outwits’ the WTO by Raising Taxes on Large Displacement Engines

For a while now, the US, Canada and the European Union have been fighting China over Beijing’s unfair tax treatment for imported foreign car parts. According to the Chinese law, imported new cars are subject to a 25% tariff while foreign parts are supposed to be taxed at a lower 10% rate. But in early 2005, China decided to enforce a 25% tariff on all imported car parts that made up for more than 60% of any vehicle.

The US, Canada and the European Union complained that Beijing broke the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) rules and started a legal battle. In February 2008, the WTO issued a preliminary ruling against China and in July 2008, the case was closed in favor of the US, Canada and the European Union. Mind you, this was the first time the WTO officially sided against China in its seven years as a WTO member. -Continued

Now, just a month after the WTO’s ruling China’s government announced that it will impose a new “green tax” from September 1st penalizing cars with large displacement engines in order to cut fuel consumption and improve air quality. Coincidently, most of those vehicles are imported…

According to China’s Ministry of Finance, the sales tax for cars with engine capacities over than 4.1 liters will double to 40% whilst cars powered with engines between 3 and 4.1 liters will be taxed at 25%, up from 15%. The tariffs on cars with engines that are 1 liter or less will drop from 3% to 1% while taxes on other cars will remain as is. And guess who makes most of the cars with smaller engines - yep, it’s the Chinese automakers!

Chinese Speed Block Means Business

The most simple and cost effective way to force drivers to slow down their pace is to add a speed bump on the road. An alternative solution is 3-dimensional speed bump images like the ones used in the city of Philadelphia –see here. But in the case of the local government in China’s ShanXi province, neither solution was good enough. Instead of using a speed bumps like the rest of the world, authorities decided to build a miniature version of the “Great Wall” in the form of a 30 meter (about 100 ft) long and 2.7 meter wide (approx 9 ft) ‘S’ shaped road barricaded with a 60 cm tall cement wall (around 2 ft). -Continued

According to reports from the Chinese media, the speed block has surpassed the local government’s expectations as not only did it slow down drivers, but it has actually created massive traffic jams on a daily basis… And if that isn’t enough of a problem, due to the fact that the road is so narrow and twisty, a large number of drivers have ended up scrapping their vehicles on the cement wall.

Via: HSW

China’s Brilliance Announces German Pricing for BS4 Sedan

Brilliance Auto, BMW's partner in China, announced on Tuesday that its BS4 compact sedan will be available in Germany from October 25 with prices starting at €15,990 or about $23,450 with the current exchange rates. The Pininfarina designed sedan that measures 4.65 meters in length (longer than a BMW 3-Series sedan) will be offered with a choice of two naturally aspirated 4-cylinder gasoline engines: a 100 HP 1.6-liter and a 136 HP 1.8-liter unit. For comparison’s sake, the smaller Ford Focus Sedan with an 80 HP 1.4-liter gasoline engine is priced in Germany from €17,750. -Continued

Brilliance already sells the larger BS6 sedan in Germany but the Chinese automaker received negative headlines in Europe last year when the BS6 failed miserably at ADAC’s crash tests gathering just one out of five stars. The Chinese automaker has said then that it would improve the car’s safety standards changing more than 60 components in order to achieve a better rating at ADAC’s crash tests.

MG to Bring Three New Cars to Europe – U.S. Plans Scrapped

In addition to a revamped version of the current TF LE500 roadster, NAC, the Chinese owner of MG is planning to introduce three new models in Europe according to company’s managing director, Gary Hagen. “We’re planning a four-car range of MGs – first to arrive will be a mid-sized saloon sharing its platform with the Roewe 550. The planned introduction for this car is late 2010 and, looking at today’s marketplace, I see the main opposition as being the Mazda 6,” said Hagen in an interview with the British website Austin Rover Online. -Continued

“After that, there will be a C-segment compact and a B-segment supermini – and, no, that won’t be the MG3 SW, which has been a major success for us in China. Clearly, we have the capacity to build these cars in Longbridge and the Chinese are keen for this to happen,” added Hagen.

NAC MG’s managing director also took the opportunity to shed some light on the company’s ‘on and off’ plans for a return into the North American market. “We’re starting with the UK and Ireland and, once we’re up to speed, we will be pushing to sell in Europe. The USA isn’t on the short-term radar as an anticipated market for us but, with the right product, it would be good to return there,” Hagen told Austin Rover Online. The MG brand disappeared from U.S. dealerships in the early 1980s.

Via: Austin Rover Online

Fiat to Build New Chinese Engine Plant in Chongqing on Low Wages

Italy’s Fiat Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government of China’s Chongqing municipality to build a brand-new commercial-vehicle engine factory in the southwestern China. According to a report posted on Chongqing Development and Reform Commission's official web site, the Fiat Group will spend 1.8 billion yuan or about $263 million on the Chongqing city plant that will have an annual capacity of 100,000 diesel engines, with about 70 percent of the output destined for export. -Continued

The Italian carmaker chose Chongqing as the location for its new plant is for the natural beauty of the area and the availability of high-qualified workers –we’re just kidding. The reason behind Fiat’s decision can be found in China’s government statistics that reveal that the average wage in the specific region about 30 percent less than in Shanghai.

Brilliance to Show Four Models in Detroit

China’s Brilliance Jinbei Automotive will show four models at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January 2009 according to a company spokesperson. The cars that will be on display at the Chinese automaker’s Detroit show booth will be the mid-sized sedan BS6, the compact sedan BS4, the BC3 sports coupe and the FRV hatchback. A Brilliance spokesperson said that the company expects to sell its first cars in the States sometime in 2009 without however providing any further information on its plans for U.S. dealers and distribution. Brilliance, which produces BMW's Chinese market cars through a join-venture partnership, has already set its foot in several European markets.

Via: ANE (sub. Req)

Buick Gets Opel Insignia... in China

These spy photos from the Chinese website Autohome seem to confirm earlier reports that GM’s joint venture with China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) will indeed produce the all-new Opel Insignia locally under the Buick brand name. From what we can tell by looking at the scoop pictures, the only visible differences with the Opel Insignia concern the Buick grille and the new fog lights. The new Opel Insignia, that was introduced to the public for the first time at the London Motor Show in July, will go on sale in Europe this fall where it will be available in both sedan and fastback versions. -More pics after the jump

Via: Autohome

Blind Justice? Chinese Court Dismisses Fiat’s Claims Against Great Wall

Just a week after a Turin court banned Great Wall from importing the GWPeri into Europe on the basis that it closely resembled Fiat's Panda minicar, and a Chinese court in Hong Kong dismissed Fiat’s claims for infringement by the Chinese car maker. Reuters also reported that Fiat was ordered by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court to pay 8,800 yuan or about $1,300 in legal fees. As you can see in these pictures here, apparently justice is blind in China...

China’s Great Wall Banned from Importing Panda Clone to Europe

Following in the footsteps of BMW that managed to stop the Chinese Shuanghuan CEO SUV from being imported into Germany, Fiat has won a court order against China’s auto manufacturer Great Wall Motors (GWM) banning the latter from bringing the GWPeri to Europe. The Italian carmaker had sued GWM both in Italy and China. In the case of the Turin court, it was ruled that the GWPeri looked to close for comfort with the Italian carmaker’s Panda minicar –wonder why…

Under the ruling, Great Wall Motors (see the clones here) should pay a €15,000 or $28,000 fine for importing the first example into Europe. If the Chinese carmaker decides to violate the ruling, GWM will be fined a further €50,000 per car brought into the region. Images of both the GWPeri and the Fiat Panda after the jump. -Continued

GWPeri

Fiat Panda

Chrysler Signs MoU with China’s Great Wall (Clone) Motors

Chrysler LLC said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's Great Wall Motor to explore the viability of a long-term strategic relationship in various areas including distribution networks, components and technology. Neither company provided details about the agreement. Notably, Chrysler has already formed a relationship with another Chinese manufacturer, Chery Automobile for the development, production and distribution of small and sub-compact vehicles.

Now, for those of you wondering why we hailed the Chinese automaker as Great Wall “Clone” Motors in the title, we remind you that Great Wall produces a great number of vehicles that literally copy Japanese and European car designs, including the “GWPERI” Fiat Panda (pictured above) and the Scion-esque Cool Bear and Florid prototypes (pictured right). Hopefully the Chinese copy-maker won’t get any crazy ideas about creating the Challenger “California Dreaming”… -More pics after the jump