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Porsche Ponders Legal Action Against Chinese Design Copy
Porsche AG is mulling a lawsuit in China to block Zhejiang-based Zotye Auto from introducing its T700 crossover, which closely resembles the Porsche Macan, in China next year, according to media reports in Germany and China.
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Porsche AG is mulling a lawsuit in China to block Zhejiang-based Zotye Auto from introducing its T700 crossover, which closely resembles the Porsche Macan, in China next year, according to media reports in Germany and China.
The T700 is expected to be offered with a starting price of 170,000 yuan (€27,400) compared with 558,000 yuan (€89,900) for the Macan.
Privately owned Zotye Holding Group Co. has a reputation for offering low-cost clones of European cars. The 12-year-old company's Zytye's T600 crossover resembles a Volkswagen Tiguan. In April the company unveiled the E200, an electric two-seater clearly inspired by Daimler AG's Smart ForTwo city car.
Analysts say Porsche will face a tough battle in China, where laws protecting product design are weak at best. They note Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.'s decision in April not to fight Jiangling Motors Co. over the Chinese company's Landwind X7, an obvious clone of the Land Rover Evoque.
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