JLR Sues Evoque Copycat Chinese Automaker

JLR sues Evoque copycat Chinese automaker as the Jiangling Motor's Landwind X7 SUV has identical styling

JLR Sues Evoque Copycat Chinese Automaker

Jaguar Land Rover is filing a lawsuit against Chinese car company Jiangling Motor as they are alleged to have copied the highly popular Range Rover Evoque luxury SUV. Reuters reported that they acquired information from a person in the know who also said it’s an infrequent move by a global auto manufacturer to stand against the copycat trend in China.

The Chinese car market is the world’s largest and it’s no secret that several domestic firms go by the copycat route for increased sales. JLR, owned by Indian auto giant Tata Motors, responded regarding this matter by saying Jiangling has been sued with a newly filed complaint on a court in eastern Chaoyang district of Beijing.

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The British luxury company alleged them of “copyright and unfair competition”. It is evident that Jiangling’s Landwind X7 sport utility vehicle has identical styling as that of the Range Rover Evoque and that’s where the problem kicked in and led to legal proceedings. Moreover, JLR would have felt that the sales of the Evoque might have been dented because of this. It’s the first model manufactured in China and went on sale in 2015.

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While Jiangling declined to comment, the odds have been stacked against a foreign manufacturer when vying legally against a local brand. Additionally, this could bring a bad image on JLR among the Chinese public. The outcome of this case will be pivotal as if the order comes in favour of JLR it could prompt other auto makers to take legal action on local competitors as well.

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Landwind revealed a new iteration of the X7 SUV in the closing stages of 2014 and it raised eyebrows for its
mirror-image-like look with the tapered windows from front to back, similarly shaped tail lamps, side profile, character lines and an utter copy of the entire front fascia.

Being a locally manufactured product, it is sold at one third a price of the Evoque with far behind technology and performance advances. JLR and Jiangling have consented to not sell the X7 in Brazil according to some reports. JLR’s sales in China rose by 19 per cent in the first three months of 2016 compared to last year and Evoque is one of the important sales gatherer. They are in for a tough task with the legal action as it’s well known that the local auto makers are highly preferred by the country’s laws.

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