BMW X5 look-alike banned in Germany

Chinese cars are cheap to buy, and some don’t have a good reputation for being safe or hot cakes in developed markets. Above all that, the majority resemble BMW’s, Audi’s and Mercedes’ designs.

Glance at the car pictured above. If I were to strip off its badge and park it alongside a previous generation BMW X5, would you be able to tell them apart? I’m very optimistic that you wouldn’t. One can argue that cars today are somewhat similarly designed, headlamps, tail lamps, and quarter glass panels are carried over from one model to another, but definitely not entire cars.

BMW had taken legal action against Shuanghuan by filing a case in a German court in September last year, for making the CEO (Pictured) based on their X5 SUV. The case now has come to an end, BMW emerging victorious in the battle, as the court ruled that Shuanghuan’s CEO infringes BMW’s design rights.

Furthermore, the court announced that Shuanghuan is banned from selling their CEO in Germany.

But Managing Director Karl Schloessl is not happy about the verdict. He complains that the CEO is an entirely different car compared to the X5. He plans to fight again by appealing against the court’s decision.

’It is a one-sided judgment, but of course it was made in Munich. It’s a BMW city," expressed the unhappy director on the court’s verdict.