The new Beetle ?
China’s Great Wall Motor Co. had earlier launched several electric cars, including one called the Punk Cat, which was accused of copying a design that closely resembled Volkswagen’s classic Beetle. However, recently Great Wall Motor submitted the registration data of “Punk Cat” to the European Union Intellectual Property Office to apply for a patent for its design. 😓😓😓
Volkswagen said that it would take legal action.
Euler, a new energy brand owned by China’s Great Wall Motor Co., launched a new electric car called Punk Cat at the Shanghai International Auto Show in April this year, selling it as a “retro tribute to an era.”
However, the design of Punk Cat, including round headlights, curved hood, overall body lines and dual colors, was very similar to Volkswagen’s classic Beetle , which aroused the suspicion that they copied the design of the classic car models. Although the Beetle has now been discontinued, Volkswagen said it would investigate whether the design involved infringes and reserved the right to take legal action.
However, Great Wall Motors has not made an apology. In addition to applying for a patent in China, the Great Wall mayor has recently completed the patent registration process for the “Punk Cat” with the EU Intellectual Property Office, and the validity period is at least five years. Foreign media made fierce criticism on this, described it as “brazen” behavior.
In the past, Chinese manufacturers have been accused of copying foreign car designs, including Jiang Ling Landwind X7, which was copied from Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Range Rover Evoque. JLR later sued Jia Ling and won.