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Fiat has won a court order against Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors, preventing it from importing its GWPeri minicar into Europe on the grounds that is too similar to the Fiat Panda.
Fiat brought the case against Great Wall after claiming that the GWPeri is an almost exact copy of the current Fiat Panda. Although the Chinese car wears a different front end, it looks nearly identical to the Fiat, both outside and inside the cabin.
The Italian court ruled in Fiat’s favour and fined Great Wall €15,000 for importing a single GW Peri. The Chinese company has also been warned that it will be fined €50,000 for every other car it brings in. Fiat is also pursuing Great Wall through the Chinese courts, attempting to stop sales there as well.
Some Chinese manufacturers have already become notorious for their liberal attitude to the copyright of existing car makers. The JMC Landwind, which is already imported into some European countries, has been liberally inspired by the old Vauxhall/ Opel Frontera.
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