A third wave of Chinese cars is coming to Oz

First there was the Great Wall Motors ute. Then, later this year, there will be the Chery city car and softroader.

Now a third wave of Chinese cars is being prepared for launch in Australia next year.

Great Wall Motors, China's biggest maker of 4WDs and utes, is branching out into small cars -- and Australia is at the top of the list for export destinations.

The first one (pictured) due to arrive in the first half of next year is a small hatchback, which from the side and rear views, has a striking resemblance to the current model Toyota Yaris.

It is called a Phenom in China but, as with the other Chinese offerings heading our way, it will likely get an alpha-numeric name in Australia.

As with the Yaris, it is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and available with five-speed manual transmission. Unlike the Yaris, however, it will be available with a CVT auto as opposed to a conventional torque converter automatic.

As with its Chery rival, the baby in the Great Wall line-up will likely be priced near or under the $13,990 drive-away competition from Korea.

The Australian distributor of Great Wall Motors and Chery vehicles, Ateco Automotive, is also negotiating to import two more small cars from Great Wall.

One is an all-new small sedan unveiled at the Beijing motor show last week (Friday 23 April), and which appears to be an original design.

The other small car on the Ateco shopping list is a square-edged vehicle called the Cool Bear -- which bears a striking resemblance to the Toyota Bb, a Gen Y hit in California and Japan.

"Great Wall is willing, ready and able to make these cars [the small sedan and the box-like hatch] available in right-hand-drive," says Dinesh Chinnappa, the head of future ventures at Ateco.

"We are very interested in both these vehicles and we are going through the process now of determining whether we can get them at the right price, and if that price is feasible for the factory.

"We'd really like to have the cars but at the end of the day it comes down to price. If we're going to do any sort of volume we have to get the price right to begin with."

The Toyota look-a-likes were developed over the past couple of years, but the company insists they are not copies.

Speaking through a translator, who struggled with English at times, the general manager of Great Wall's overseas trade, Wenlin Xing, told the Carsales Network: "Generally speaking it's not a simple copy. In the Chinese automotive market, companies need to study from other countries but not copy."

Indeed, this would put the Chinese car makers in similar company with their Asian peers. Both Japanese and Korean car makers were widely accused of copying European designs in their formative years.

Regardless of the remarkable similarities with the latest Great Wall offerings and some popular Toyota (and Nissan) models, the Chinese maker has indicated these may be the last of its copycat cars.

"As our vehicles are updated or improved we will see more unique design," Xing said.

He also claimed that Great Wall Motors had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Toyota and Nissan to not copy future designs (another model in the Great Wall line-up closely resembles a Nissan hatch sold in Japan).

"Yes we have a little complaining [from Toyota and Nissan] but we have a good communication with them. We make some changes to the lamps and we speak with them about changes. They did not take us to court, we make some understanding."

When asked if Great Wall had to pay any royalties for any potential infringements on intellectual property, the translator answered: "no".

The Carsales Network was not able to verify with Toyota and Nissan in time for this story whether such an agreement had been reached with Great Wall.

Either way, it is likely there are political sensitivities. Both Toyota and Nissan have lucrative joint ventures in China that they would not want to jeopardise by taking drastic action.

When the Carsales Network asked Toyota Australia for a comment on the company's position on the look-a-like Yaris and Bb, spokesman Mike Breen said: "It's a free market".

That said, it does appear that Great Wall may have already turned the corner. Its production-car star of the Beijing show, the all-new sedan, appears to have a unique design not borrowed from anyone.

If the new car drives well and the quality is another step forward from those sampled, it will have taken another big step towards closing the gap to the Koreans -- and Japanese -- car makers.

The big question mark, however, remains over safety.

When asked how long it would take for Great Wall Motors to have a vehicle that would achieve a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, the answers got lost in translation -- despite several attempts.

The Carsales Network was told after the meeting that a Euro NCAP five-star car would be unlikely before 2012 (the car maker's current model-cycle horizon) and could take until 2015.

Great Wall, as with its rival Chery, does seem to be taking safety seriously, however. Great Wall has recently built its own crash test facility and is in the process of building a pedestrian safety test area.

It is developing stability control for future models, including the X240 4WD already sold in Australia, and is designing body structures with stringent European regulations in mind.

While the cars may look the part, and the Chinese are making massive improvements with each new model, there is still some way to go with safety development.

On a tour of its facility, Great Wall executives boasted that they crash test 12 cars before each model is launched. This is well short of the industry average. Most car makers also back up real-world tests with thousands of computer simulations.

Most car makers crash test between 60 and 100 real cars -- some luxury brands have been known to crash close to 200 during the development of an all-new model.

They are already light years ahead of the current model Great Wall utes and 4WDs in Australia.

The quality of the materials, from the soft-touch door panels with modern-looking surface dimples, to the durable seat fabrics, was impressive.

The switchgear was ok (although the air-conditioning dials and power windows switches could do with a more precise touch) and the layout was fuss free.

As with many Chinese cars sampled this week, the Yaris look-a-like struggled with some uneven panel joins -- inside and out -- and exposed screws near the interior door handles.

However, the newer Bb look-a-like was pretty close to the mark overall. Indeed, the enthusiasm for it among the Aussie journos prompted Ateco to move this car higher up the priority list.

I can't believe I'm saying this but, if the Bb copy had a Toyota badge on it, the difference between it and the real deal -- in terms of quality and fit and finish -- would be hard for an untrained eye to pick.

The 1.5 engine revved nicely, the CVT shifted well, and locked and coasted when it should have. Steering was light and precise. Grip and feel from the Korean Kumho 185/65R15  KH18 tyres were well inside what you'd deem average for a light car.

The Great Wall copycat cars might look like a bit of a joke, but it will likely be the Chinese who have the last laugh.

Look beyond the copycat clothes and what you're really looking at is a highly capable car maker still finding its feet.

Sooner rather than later, Great Wall needs to either design their cars without borrowing inspiration from others, or really do it properly and enlist expert help (as some other Chinese makers have done) by contracting European styling studios to do the work.

Until then, the copycat design will simply detract from what Great Wall is really capable of.

It has been China's biggest maker of 4WDs and utes for the past 10 years in a row, but is branching out into smaller vehicles to expand its domestic and overseas sales.

Great Wall has 18,000 employees including 3000 in research and development.

Great Wall is based in Baoding, about two hours' drive west of Beijing. There, on a 40 hectare site, it has four factories with an annual capacity of 400,000 vehicles.

Last year it manufactured 180,000 vehicles, of which 35,000 were exported. This year, it is on track to produce 400,000 vehicles, of which 50,000 will be exported.

Main export markets to date include Russia, South Africa, Chili, Italy and Australia.

V240 dual cab ute gets a new nose and a 2.0 turbodiesel (100kW and 310Nm) with five-speed manual only.

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