Land Rover fuming over Chinese copy

Land Rover is weighing up its options in regards to the new Landwind X7 SUV, which appears to be a very close copy of the Range Rover Evoque, one of Land Rover's best-selling models.

The Landwind X7 had its global debut at the 2014 Guangzhou Auto Show last week and Land Rover's most senior employee, CEO Ralph Speth, is none too pleased.

"The fact that this kind of copying is ongoing in China is very disappointing," Land Rover's CEO told UK-based Autocar.

Although it's unlikely much will be achieved within China, where the Landwind X7 is now on sale for about one third the price of a Chinese-built Evoque, Speth is not going down without a fight to protect the company's intellectual property (IP).

"The simple principle is that it is not something that should happen; the intellectual property is owned by Jaguar Land Rover, and if you break that IP then you are in breach of international regulations that apply around the world," stated Speth.

The reverse-engineered Range Rover Evoque rip-off was initially brought to the attention of company officials after Jaguar design chief Ian Callum tweeted about the curious design. Land Rover has since told Automotive News Europe that it will "take whatever steps are appropriate".

Legal action is unlikely, and virtually impossible within China, as most major companies are have partial government-ownership. The best Land Rover can hope for is that the vehicle is not exported to one of the Evoque's major markets.

The plot looks set to thicken however, as Land Rover has formed an alliance with Chery Automobile in China, which means the Range Rover Evoque is also built on the Chinese mainland by said company. Essentially, Chinese motorists can choose to buy the Landwind X7 for around $A23,000 (120,000 yuan), or the Range Rover Evoque for roughly $A76,000 (400,000 yuan), both of which look virtually identical.

"I will talk to our officials and I will talk to our partners at Chery to find a way around this situation," the Land Rover CEO said in relation to both cars being offered in China.

The Landwind X7 can be ordered in China with a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic and is paired with a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine worth 140kW/250Nm. The interior is said to be similar to the Evoque too, with premium seats and a larger touch-screen that runs the Android operating system.

One potential path Land Rover could take would be to put pressure on Ford, which has a 31 per cent stake in Jiangling Motor Holding (JMH), the company that owns Landwind. JMH is also building the Ford Australia-developed Everest SUV for the Chinese market from early 2015.

The Landwind X7's name will also clash with the upcoming BMW X7 SUV, but Chinese law dictates that alpha-numeric combinations cannot be copyrighted.