This is not a Tiguan...

[900000]

Not an ounce of creativity these people have. They can't even just copy it and tweak it to look different, no they copy it VERBATIM!!!!!! It just beggars belief. And all the cars you see below are from the SAME company. They seemingly don't care that they now have a model range that looks like a VW, an Audi and an Infiniti. :no:

The Tiguan copy:

At the rear they copied the larger Touareg rear lights for some bizarre reason though...

And not just the outside gets copied. Nope look at the horrid VW spider eye vents inside! They even copied that!!!!

The Audi A4 copy:

The Infiniti EX copy:

From: http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/09/oh-chinayema-auto-presents-clones-of.html?

There are loads more photos in the link above showing the abysmal quality of these things - eg HUGE panel gaps. Until recently no big car company ever took out a patent or copyright for a car's design as it was just unthinkable that anyone would want to copy something like that. Yet now they are forced to do it. These Chinese companies now even take out patents and copyright on known designs BEFORE the actual company did so THEY have the rights to a design!!!!!!! The cheek! This happened recently to Toyota where they copied a Japanese domestic market only design in Europe before Toyota did...

Unfortunately for them it is very difficult to copy varying strength steel and thus they have no idea about the years and years worth of design that went into the safety structures of modern cars so when it comes to testing time and NCAP throws one of these against a giant concrete block they nearly always get 1 star or less. Deathtraps one and all.

Eg: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/258742/chinese_firm_hits_new_low_in_horror_crash_test.html

http://www.bild.de/auto/2007/auto/katastrophe-china-2019656.bild.html

Translated from German

Now lets just hope we will never ever see cheap Å koda Yeti copies!

[BossFox]

It shows how important the China market is though.

They rip off everyones designs and yet all the big car firms are still desperate to do business there, even with the biased rules.

If they looked different the customers couldn't change the badges to make them look far more expensive.

[jrw]

Absolutely shocking. I presume when these Chinese companies are registering the design rights, the likes of VAG and Toyota can still get those rights back as they have proven records and obviously the car produced before these cowboys?

Similar back in the early 00's when people were buying all the .com's for big companies to try and sell them to them for huge amounts, they quite simply couldn't!

[My_Yeti]

One of my all time favorite is the Shuanghuan SCEO

Ssangyong Badge

Land Cruiser Front

X5 Rear

X3 Side

All for the price of 15k.

Coincidentally, I wonder if Ford/Land Rover ever got sued for this:

Edited 19 September, 2011 by My_Yeti

[BossFox]

Absolutely shocking. I presume when these Chinese companies are registering the design rights, the likes of VAG and Toyota can still get those rights back as they have proven records and obviously the car produced before these cowboys?

I don't beleive there are design rights in this instance in China as the local car firms are free to copy any model from any maker.

As long as they are sold on the home market in China they are pretty much free to do what they want.

Bascially they get extreme preferential treatment compared to car firms from other countries, who have to jump through hoops to sell cars in China.

And then we let them sell anything they want here on an equal footing. Doesn't seem right to me, but there you go. :wonder:

[EdmundBlackadder]

I'm afraid that in most lines of business Chinese companies don't give a stuff about patents or copyrights. China is the counterfeit capital of the world and countries wont stand up to them as they are the new economic powerhouse.

[Allams Skoda]

Are the mechanicals copied too or do they have their own engines etc?

[Deputy]

I work in China a lot and the copies still amaze me (I was offered an iPhone 5 in July - not even launched yet! I will be checking to see if the real one looks the same when finally uncovered).

Thankfully for 'Western' companies the Chinese haven't yet got great new ideas of their own and just make cheap copies of everything (and why I have a job!).

But once they do get designers doing new ideas.....

[900000]

Are the mechanicals copied too or do they have their own engines etc?

AFAIK they normally at least source this locally. An engine is something a bit too complex to copy just yet. They seem to be more into copying visuals and the outer skin rather than innards. But who knows!?

[CFB]

Even Rolls Royce are not safe apparently....

I remember James May doing a piece on top gear about this one.

It might look like a Rolls but that's where the similarities end

[James I]

The far east is really an issue with copies, I know a print machine manufacturer who shipped one machine to China, the order was for five, when the engineer got there to commission the machine they already had four that were a different colour, suspiciously the engineer looked around them and they were exact copies of the one they had sent! they cancelled the other four!

BTW the silver A4 looks very much like what I chopped in for the Yeti!

[900000]

What this copying has now also caused is that manufacturers have to register their design before they can unveil it and then some clever clogs get hold of these filings and post them on the internet before the car itself gets launched! Brilliant. Here is the just registered new Honda CR-V as an example:

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/09/2012-honda-cr-v-official-designs-of.html?

[hmibennett]

What this copying has now also caused is that manufacturers have to register their design before they can unveil it and then some clever clogs get hold of these filings and post them on the internet before the car itself gets launched! Brilliant. Here is the just registered new Honda CR-V as an example:

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/09/2012-honda-cr-v-official-designs-of.html?

Gosh, that's an ugly, heavy-looking brute (IMHO, anyway)!

[EdmundBlackadder]

A neighbour has a current version and that looks better than this one. I hope for their sakes that it looks better in the flesh.

[900000]

A neighbour has a current version and that looks better than this one. I hope for their sakes that it looks better in the flesh.

I think it does look better in the metal. This is the slightly disguised concept version from a few months ago:

[Deputy]

I spoke with my Chinese collegues yesterday (I was gloating my Yeti had more kit than his (real) Tiguan for less money! The Tiguan is very popular in China hence the copy).

He has seen the copy Tiguan in a local showroom and even he is amazed how they get way with it - when the government tries to control everything else!

[EdmundBlackadder]

I think it does look better in the metal. This is the slightly disguised concept version from a few months ago:

Agreed. I do think this looks good. However too expensive and mpg not good enough to force a change from the Yeti, unless significant change from current car which is unlikely.

[900000]

I just found this titbit on the China Car Times. These clones above MIGHT be based on, wait for it, an Austin Montego !!!!!!!!! I kid you not!!!!! :giggle: See Wikipedia for how the Montego ended up in China.

[scotchandskoda]

I just found this titbit on the China Car Times. These clones above MIGHT be based on, wait for it, an Austin Montego !!!!!!!!! I kid you not!!!!! :giggle: See Wikipedia for how the Montego ended up in China.

Oh dear, that is a clone too far. What about an Austin Maxi or Marina clone next?

Looking back at your thread it is amazing how these companies get away with it. But interestingly some big Euro cars are looking more and more like they're eyeing the Chinese market and this has heavily influenced their new designs. They are not copying exactly, but are following design details from cars like the top end brands Infinity and Lexus. Why wouldn't they, as the European and US markets are shrinking they see sales in China as a big way out of trouble.

The new / next BMWs in particular have the swoops, sharper creases and front & rear light designs that seem to suit the Asian markets. Sharp corners on the rear lights are the key shape of the moment, unlike the big square jobs on the Yeti, which I prefer. Next time a BMW X1 or 3 or some Mercs pass you look at how similar details are to some Korean & Japanese cars. The next generation Merc A and B class look like Hondas, especially the back end where you can't see the huge Merc star. Merc in particular have to stay up with BM and Audi in the Far East.

I like German designs of the 60s & 70s, NSU and Audi then looked purposeful and well made, the VW K70 which was very boxy - very simple. The first BMW 5 series looked so good compared to cars like the Montego of the period. A big crease all around the waist like all BMs of that time.

It's a shame that even if the BM is well made as I expect it is, it's looking cheap to my eyes, if you look past the badge. They Yeti doesn't look like it's going to get cloned there, it doesn't look like a designed destined or meant to be a big success in the far east. I was intrigued by the latest Land Rover DC100 concept- the replacement for the old Defender looks very Yeti-ish around the window and roof line, but a snub nosed front end is a bit odd looking, odd but sort of friendly like the Yeti.

It's funny, because many car buyers in the Far East want cars to look western, to look successful, look at the designs of Peter Schrayer's at Kia. He is a sort of cult hero there. An ex VW/Audi designer brought in to make Kia cars more European, but for their market and ours. I suppose it all meets in the middle, with Rav 4 looks.

It's good to see Skoda VW and even Seat buck that trend.

[My_Yeti]

I think they have a license to build the Maestro or Montego, I think it is quite good to recycle car design from such a long time ago. 0 development costs means it must be cheap to build and buy.

[900000]

It's funny, because many car buyers in the Far East want cars to look western, to look successful, look at the designs of Peter Schrayer's at Kia. He is a sort of cult hero there. An ex VW/Audi designer brought in to make Kia cars more European, but for their market and ours. I suppose it all meets in the middle, with Rav 4 looks.

Peter Schrayer has done miracles at KIA. From all the cars I got in and out of at the recent Frankfurt motor show it was KIA that impressed me by far the most. The new KIA Rio is a great looking car inside and out. As is the Optima and even the Picanto has a certain flair about it. The Sportage is as good looking - albeit very wheel and colour sensitive. A white one on the base spec wheels looks dreadful.