Chinese companies are known for their bold plagiarism.
Now a Chinese manufacturer has cloned a legendary car from VW.
Shanghai managers from Volkswagen must have rubbed their eyes at the auto show in Shanghai.
At the Ora booth they looked into their own past.
The brand of the Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors (GWM) presented the Punk Cat, an electric car whose shapes are strikingly reminiscent of the VW Beetle.
The VW Beetle was a hit that was built from late 1938 to summer 2003.
With 21.5 million vehicles, it is the best-selling car in the world after the VW Golf.
The successors to the Beetle were the VW New Beetle, which rolled off the assembly line from 1997 to 2010, and the VW Beetle, which was produced from 2011 to 2019.
But that could not be the final end, Volkswagen should think about a comeback of the Beetle.
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The Ora Punk Cat looks very similar to a traditional VW Beetle
© Manufacturer
Electric VW Beetle copy: Plagiarism has four doors instead of two
It can be clearly seen that the Punk Cat designers have oriented themselves towards the VW Beetle for the bonnet, the headlights, the lines and the rear with the distinctive taillights.
The interior and cockpit, for example the steering wheel, also bring the past to life.
One difference is that, unlike the original, the copy has four doors instead of two.
Ora has not yet announced technical details about the Punk Cat, for example battery capacity, range or charging power.
No information was given about the price or the start of sales.
Electric VW Beetle copy: The manufacturer's mother is an important partner company of BMW
Great Wall Motors only launched the Ora brand, which specializes in affordable electric cars, in 2018. This could be unpleasant for BMW, because in the same year the Bavarians founded the Spotlight Automotive joint venture with the Chinese. Together, the partners are currently building a new plant in Zhangjiagang, where around 3,000 employees are expected to assemble 160,000 minis a year from 2022. The cars of the British BMW subsidiary are mainly produced for the Chinese market, but will later also be exported.
BMW doesn't want anything to do with the plagiarism of the VW Beetle.
According to
Business Insider
, a spokeswoman said: "BMW has no knowledge of Great Wall Motors' models, plans, etc. that do not affect the joint venture.
GWM's own business activities outside of this joint venture are not part of the cooperation and cannot be further commented on by us. "
Electric VW Beetle copy: Volkswagen is investigating a violation of design law
The Ora Punk Cat could also call Volkswagen on the scene.
According to the car blog
Carscoops
and
Bild
, the Wolfsburg-based company is checking whether the electric car violates design law.
If this is the case, the car manufacturer reserves the right to take legal action.
List of rubric lists: © Ng Han Guan / dpa / picture alliance / AP
