Over the years, various Chinese automakers have been inspired by produced blatant copies of various mainstream automobiles.
The Landwind X7 appears to be a direct replica of the Range Rover Evoque. So much so, that Jaguar Land Rover recently sued Jiangling Motor, the largest shareholder of Landwind, for copyright infringement and unfair competition. Shockingly, that case is currently in a little bit of a limbo in the Chinese court system.
The worlds of Land Rover and Landwind literally collided today when a Landwind X7 and Range Rover Evoque got into a minor fender-bender. The accident happened in Chongqing, a small city in southwest China with a population roughly twice that of Los Angeles.
The resemblance of these two vehicles is undeniable. From the way the company name is written across the hood of each vehicle to the garnish around the exhaust tips, which also happen to be identical, there is very little difference. In this case, both cars also happen to be the same shade of red, further visually reducing the differences between them. CarNewsChina points out that differences in dimensions are rather minimal, too. The Landwind is 21 inches longer, but width and height are within a handful of inches of each other.
The Indonesian (I think) website motorekblog.com created the above side-by-side image of the two vehicles. The Landwind appears to be just a cheaper-looking copy of the Landy, because it is. Quality differences are many, but the biggest can be seen in the way some trim was applied, left unpainted, or simply slapped on. The rear wiper on the Landwind really bothers me, personally. Both vehicles’ interiors look damn similar, too.
The biggest difference between the two vehicles appears to be the price, as the Land Rover costs almost four times as much as the Landwind. Interestingly, Chinese market Land Rover Evoques are made in China.
Despite their ongoing feuds in court, the local police blamed this accident on the driver of the Landwind, who appears to have attempted to make right turn in front of the Land Rover.
[Source: carnewschina.com]
Assuming reliability is similar, the Land Wind is an easy choice – plus, it is coming with length.
Oh no! Asian wham-bam! (Can’t say accident any more, not PC and causes triggers.)
I should imagine, in China, fault is routinely assigned to the person in the poorer vehicle. Or the pedestrian who was struck by the car, wherever applicable.
Dal definitely likes both of these cars a whole lot BTW.
Me crash you long time.
Me slippy slippy crashy crashy…
Gosh derrniittt, wuts goin on ovurr heaarrrr??? Herpity derp!
This looks like a job for Comrade Flo over at People’s Progressive…
Someone with a talent for lyrics and satire will have a field day with “This Land is Your Land, this Land is my Land.”
I remember back in the late 80s the Chinese began churning out dirt cheap replacement sheet metal panels for the very rust prone 73 and up GM pickup and Suburban family. Only took them two decades to evolve to making the whole thing.
I remember those LMC catalog ads in the back of Four Wheeler…I guess that they had to get those panels from somewhere!
Oh, rust-prone doesn’t even begin to describe it. We had one of those ’73 trucks (with a three-on-the-tree manual transmission, too).
What really ought to tick off Land Rover is that the Land Wind has a more attractive tail light (though it still could use tweaking itself).
The Range Rover Evoque did get a minor facelift for 2016, which includes—among other things—new headlamps and taillamp pods. I only noticed when I saw one in traffic the other day.
http://images.caricos.com/l/land_rover/2016_range_rover_evoque/images/1600×1200/2016_range_rover_evoque_125_1600x1200.jpg
Stop taking pics at speed while traveling in the EU!
Bahahahaha
You’re not wrong. The black trim valance panel does nothing good.
This whole incident smacks of Katt Williams, the 300c and the Bentley.
I also think the Landwind would have better reliability in the end.
The rear light area on that Land Wind looks just like the ’90s Vauxhall Astra hatch.
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDUwWDgwMA==/z/iooAAOSwoBtW3v0w/$_86.JPG
With the exception of the rear wiper, I think the Land Wind looks better and less dated than the Land Rover.
The door handles are better integrated into the character lines on the Land Wind.
“…when police asked the Land Wind driver the time of the accident, he looked at his Rolex Daytona, but it wasn’t working. The driver told them this happens all the time with fake Rolexes…”
+1
What, no Break Wind edition?
Not really seeing the similarities in the interior…
I’d safely say the Land Wind drove away from the crash scene, while the Land Rover required a tow.
As usual.
I worked in the software industry for years, so I know that getting China to respect intellectual property rights is an ongoing struggle. For things like software and movies I can understand people don’t care because they are getting the same product for cheap, but…
Do owners of these cars like Land Wind actually think they are fooling people? Those who appreciate prestige cars will be able to see the differences right away and those who can’t see the difference probably don’t care.
Or do people just buy the clones because they like the way they look? In which case why not just make an original and nice looking car?
By the way from the side and interior I would almost say it looks more like an Audi than a Land Rover.
The Land Wind is about one-third of the price.
The same thinking is going when people buy a V6 Mustang, they want the looks but not the price. Hell, the Roush V6 Mustang just came out, it has no mechanical similarities to the correct Roush Mustangs, but they will be fooling people on the street. You could say the same thing with the 300C; looks but not the price.
It’s a fair guess that those who are buying the Land Wind can’t afford to buy any car that costs $40,000 more.
They aren’t just trying to save the money. They don’t have the money.
Were they trying to merge, like Station, in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey?
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/600×315/75/5c/d9/755cd93da7d66e702c257f5042a959eb.jpg
Been to China 4 times.
And every time there you are reminded of the copy of brands going on. You always think the “coke” you are drinking can be any kind of soda. And never sure about the quality and purity.
If anything…you just drank bottled beer…and hoped the germs were killed.
I also remember the, I think his title was manufact VP for Jeep, wondering why so many Jeeps were on the roads of China. He couldn’t understand it because it was a joint venture and they knew how many were built.
Turns out…copies.
I was in China in 2001. At the time all the cars that I saw on the road were like nothing else I’ve seen before, and I lived in Eastern Europe until the age of 10.
It’s not just the copies, but zombie brands that are otherwise taking off in China. When was the last time a real Borgward was made? A friend of mine bought an MG over there a few months ago. It has little to do with the British MG other than the name and logo. Just a junky Chinese car with a foreign badge that is also sold in the UK. They’re a brand-crazy people. $150 for Lee jeans, $44 for a bottle of PBR. Just tell them foreigners like this junk, and you’ll get rich selling it to them.
Why didn’t they do a straight copy of the Evoque’s interior? I mean, how dare they try to be original?
A quarter the cost? Considering 95% of Evoque buyers will NEVER use the thing off-road or require even 5% of the clever traction gadgets built in I’m surprised that the Chinese don’t make a few superficial external changes and a new original name and sell them in the US and Europe.
Certainly based on the photos that additional 21 inches has been usefully employed and gives a pleasing profile.
Probably because knowing how the average Chery has all the crash structure of wet Kleenex, it wouldn’t be cost-effective to certify it.
How the wind blows.
I was going to say the offending driver could give the other driver his fender but I doubt the panels would line up.
Looking at the photos I think you mean it’s 2.1 inches longer, not 21 inches.
Viral marketing stunt? Viral marketing stunt.
VIRAL MARKETING STUNT!!!