Are Chinese Copy-Cat Models Unethical?

BYD T6 rendered speculation

BYD's T6 aka the Porsche Cayenne clone

By Michael Gauthier
May 7, 2009 1:40 PM
Filed Under: Asian, Design

With this latest photo showing the upcoming BYD T6, we're left wondering - are Chinese clones unethical and do they harm the perception of China's automotive industry?

Although the authenticity of this photoshopped scan could not be confirmed, the Cayenne knock-off is allegedly a real model expected to be released by BYD as the T6 in September 2010.

Judging from the image, the exterior differences between the T6 and Porsche Cayenne are virtually undistinguishable as the only change appears to be a minor reshaping of the front grille work and the addition of a BYD badge. Despite the Porsche styling, the T6 is reported to be equipped with an underpowered 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine which will always remind owners that they're not in the real thing.

While the T6 is just the latest in a long line of copies, it represents everything that is wrong with China's automotive industry. In the past Mercedes, BMW, and Toyota have fought companies that released clones of their vehicles but without much success.

With some European brands falling under Chinese control, the country's more modern automakers have either stopped or cut down on their liberal "borrowing" of European and American designs. Despite this minor glimmer of hope, the fact remains that even one copy tarnishes the image of all China's automakers and reinforces the idea that Chinese cars are subpar.

Source: leblogauto.com via carscoop.blogspot.com

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Tags: BYD, T6, China, Copy, Clones

Comments

Bristol411S3

May 7, 2009 1:53 PM

Amongst the worst Photoshops I have seen. This isn't real.

deliverinsanity

May 7, 2009 2:00 PM

I'm pretty sure it's real and, more to that, I'm pretty sure that they're going to put it in production.

zdenda20

May 7, 2009 2:15 PM

yup, thats photoshopped...

deliverinsanity

May 7, 2009 3:17 PM

Please take 2 seconds to read the 4 words underneath the photo. "BYD T6 rendered speculation".

freeway

May 7, 2009 5:19 PM

even if it's not real now... if you'll compare it to all other copies of European and Japanese models made by Chinese it's not a surprise if you'll see it on the road soon... just look at this link: http://www.gandul.info/poze/masina/top-10-masini-copiate-de-chinezi-nimic-nu-le-scapa-de-la-matiz-la-rolls-royce.html?3892;4246021&type=main_picture&ptr=0

Edited by user on May 7, 2009 at 5:21 PM

Beemer

May 7, 2009 1:53 PM

Oh my! Chinese Porsche! They finaly became impudent! :(

ADJ-117

May 7, 2009 2:06 PM

I despise the Asian copies of original products. I despise most copies actually, just so happens that most of the bad ones you hear of are from China and such.

zeitgeist_md

May 7, 2009 2:27 PM

http://bbs.fblife.com/viewthread.php?tid=805274

The topic of this thread is "The Cayenne sold at RMB 100,000"

The first pic tells you that this BYD T6, powered by a 2.0L engine, will be on sale in Sep, 2010. The price is around RMB 100,000 (USD 15,000)

Actually, such kinds of copy are also widely criticised in China, esp on the internet. There is even one word, i.e. "Shanzhai", to describe such phenomenon.

benjcolomba

May 7, 2009 2:33 PM

Copying is legal in China. Moreover, that's the way they use to learn and, after, do better than the model they have copied...

lucifa

May 7, 2009 3:31 PM

Copyright infringement is an international convention; it's not legal anywhere. Rape is, but copying isn't. Says something about our world. ;)

ShinyG

May 7, 2009 4:22 PM

@lucifa: Copyright is not the same around the world. Communist and some socialist states do not have such a thing as copyright and China is one of them. They can copy as much as they want, western world copyright laws do not apply there. Their problem would be to sell these clones in a country where Porsche can sue them for copyright infringement, like the US.

lucifa

May 8, 2009 10:52 AM

Sorry, should have said that more clearly -- copyright is an international convention, meaning no organisation in the world can break a copyright, but some Communist states don't have copyright laws. So basically, the Germans could copy a Chinese design and not infringe copyright, but the UN says the Chinese technically can't copy the Germans.

kooper

May 7, 2009 2:33 PM

Sure it's unethical. Is it funny sometimes? Sure is. What are the bets that when the BYD Porsche knock-off comes out it will look considerably more horrible than the already horrible-looking Cayenne?

But seriously, if knock-offs are all we can expect from China's automotive industry, I don't think the rest of the world has anything to worry about. Besides, Nike still sells better than Nile and Reebok still outsells Leebok.

Renegade

May 7, 2009 2:50 PM

So it's pretending to be a Porsche that's already pretending to be a Porsche.

tarig

May 7, 2009 3:20 PM

i don’t think it real because BYD usually copy Toyota design

joelynn

May 7, 2009 4:01 PM

rendered speculation, its just a cayenne... these replicas never look that much like the real thing

freeway

May 7, 2009 5:15 PM

just search on internet and you'll find out the top 10 European and Japanese copied cars by these "imaginative" Chinese... and you'll find out that 7 or 8 of these models are identical 98% compared to the original model (they've even copied the logo - just look at the Toyota Land Cruiser copy and all the other models: C Class Mercedes, BMW X5, Toyota Previa, Smart, Fiat Panda, Mini, Mazda 3 called Haima 3, a.s.o) so for me it will not be a surprise if this "rendered" BYD (BYD being one of the most "lucrative" in copying other brands alongside Geely) will appear on the market as such - BTW watch the link in my other comment above

dmanero

May 7, 2009 4:31 PM

what does it matter if they copy certain cars, no one will buy a car manufactured in China, same goes for Iran, Saudi etc.

politz

May 7, 2009 4:49 PM

they already copy everything from toyota... from the aygo to the lexus rx... just surprised they're 'benchmarking' another company now.

such a flattering homage, right?

yulei

May 7, 2009 4:58 PM

BYD just a small automaker,in china market they have to copy if they wanna survive.

Swifty

May 7, 2009 5:59 PM

nothing suprised...with Geely they already copied RR Phantom...a lot

GRAVE

May 7, 2009 7:08 PM

man, they copied the worst looking suv @@

THERENAISSANCEMAN

May 8, 2009 9:32 AM

hahahahaha darn right ! they could have just opted for a Range Rover instead .

Housemans

May 7, 2009 7:13 PM

@Renegade: Indeed! :LOL:

Housemans

May 7, 2009 7:20 PM

It's useless, Cayennes are only sold for the badge, not 'cause they're pretty! So copy the badge as well...or don't copy at all!

SD-AMG

May 7, 2009 7:48 PM

It is just another copy, like the X5, smart or Rolls Royce copy they are producing! It just shows how great China is. Worst pile of s... ever!!!

BabyMilo

May 7, 2009 7:35 PM

Why do the Chinese need to copy everything?? They make the good expensive cars age and look really cheesy. Go Away China get some designers!

HUMM3R

May 7, 2009 9:21 PM

the chinese are too ambitious, but no talent to do anything about it. they are copy cats. as above

Pentium

May 7, 2009 10:06 PM

All Chinese cars are bad copy cats, cheap made and disgusting to drive!

electra

May 8, 2009 1:03 AM

Design is not the only factor when people decide to buy an automobile. there are waranty factor, Fun To Drive, Reliability factor, Power to Weight Ratio, Fit and Finish, etc, thus copying an automobile design does not guarantee that its product will sell well in the market.. The market will decide which product will survive

pscs

May 8, 2009 1:41 PM

that's crazy man, there's no way they would be producing that porsche clone. the headlights are identical, i mean, are they actually gonna make the inside parts of the headlights exactly the same too. IMO it's fake...

but you can always pick up one of those rip offs and have the bumper remade so that it'll really look like a porsche...

TheSilentKnight

May 8, 2009 4:10 PM

Think of this guys, have you seen what Chinese state-controlled industry is like. If car-manufacturing is anything like state-controlled farming, I think that we might see Chinese people's fingers stitched into the seats, their hair coming through the air vents, and a Chinaman's eyeball for a map-reading light. Think about this, when there was a recent tour of some of the Chinese state-controlled farms, the guys from Tasmania, the small island state in Australia, had all their cameras and voice-recorders confiscated; in essence it was because there were a few corpses lying around amongst the food they were growing, and human excrement was being used as fertiliser. Enough said about Chinese industry I think guys and gals.

wjaprep

May 8, 2009 4:22 PM

I think Mercedes (smart car copy) BMW (x5 copy) and evryone else shuld sue the chinese car industies that copy, espically BYD and put them out of bussiness. This is not even remotely fair. i know if i was a head at BMW i wulda sued. they lack imagnation and shuld build cars, theyre not even SAFE! chinese shuld build cars.

super_car_muscle_man

May 9, 2009 3:03 PM

its so lame that the chineese companies are doing this. its pathetic that this is so big its a phenomona in china. i hope something happens so those companies go bust.

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