MINI Cloned In China… Again!

by Edward Niedermeyer

April 10th, 2023 5:34 PM

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Nobody told the Germans, who seem to be growing weary of China’s ceaseless automotive design flattery. “The Copy-Shop is open again” grumbles AutoBild, of the Emgrand EC6-RV, which marks the second obvious Chinese MINI clone here’s the first) in the last several years. At least Emgrand’s parent company Geely isn’t ripping off its joint venture partner… but then, didn’t Geely buy Volvo so it wouldn’t have to rip off Western brands? Old habits must die hard…

#Branding #China #Design #Germany #MINI

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8 of 20 comments

Diseasel on Apr 14, 2011

OOH! Question for all you TTAC readers-- if you had to drive one lovely Chinese imitation vehicle, which would it be? Although I'm not a Hummer type of dude, I'd have to go with the Dongfeng EQ2050-- a delightfully shameless Chinese Humvee.

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- Cole on Apr 14, 2011
  
  BYD T6
  
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- Infinitime on Apr 14, 2011
  
  Umm, you know that the DongFeng EQ2050 is a LICENSED production version of the HUMMVEE, right? In fact, it is built on an imported AM General chassis, made in the good ol' US of A? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humvee_manufacturing_in_China
  
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- Diseasel on Apr 14, 2011
  
  @infinitime Wikipedia to the rescue! Last I heard they used a number of suspension components and the licensing was a grey area. In any case, change my vote to the Schuanghuan Sceo, AKA X5. BTW, nice choice, Cole.
  
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FuzzyPlushroom on Apr 14, 2011

It certainly has more Soul than the Mini does. *rimshot*

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Zackman on Apr 14, 2011

I'll go with the Nissan Cube, thank you.

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Nicodemus on Apr 14, 2011

The irony is that the MINI itself is a shameless pastiche of late 1950's Morris styling

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- Beken on Apr 14, 2011
  
  Well, not quite. BMW actually bought the brand and designed the MINI to fit all the modern safety gadgets and fit modern (read much bigger) wheels. Hence the bloated size. The Chinese did not buy the brand nor licensed any of the design from anybody. Still, I think the back end looks more Aveo than MINI.
  
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