Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery
Shuanghuan has been prevented from selling the CEO SUV in Germany after a court in Munich ruled that Shuanghuan’s CEO infringes BMW’s design rights. The CEO exterior appears to be a cloned copy of the BMW X5.
European importer China Automobile’s CEO, Karl Schloessl, told Associated Press reporters that the CEO was developed independently and that it bears no similarities with the X5 in either style or price.
Toyota has also noticed similarities between the Shuanghuan UFO and the RAV4, but has decided not to pursue the copy, since they have faith in their customers to spot the differences.
Daimler and Mercedes Benz have also initiated court action to stop the import of the Shuanghuan Nobel minicar, following its appearance at the Frankfurt motor show in 2007. The Nobel not only appears identical to the body shape of the Smart car, but China Automobile Deutschland claims it will sell the Nobel priced at around €7,000, making it Germany’s cheapest car. Cheekily, the Nobel’s logo is ’smarter than the rest’!
In the meantime a world record was set at ‘Destination Brooklands’ which took place in Weybridge, Surrey on June 26th after 13 passengers were crammed into a smart car.
