Carmakers often win plaudits – and customers – by gesturing towards classic designs. But Chinese manufacturer Landwind may have gone a step too far.
Its new X7 sport utility vehicle, launched at the Guangzhou motor show, bears a striking resemblance to Jaguar Land Rover’s Evoque – so much so that the British manufacturer is investigating whether it can take action.
The X7, which will retail for less than half the Evoque’s Chinese price, carries the same low-slung style as the sporty Range Rover, similar wheel-arch detailing and familiar front-end. “It’s amazing to see this still going on in 2014 – we all thought the Chinese manufacturers had moved on from this game,” said Max Warburton, an analyst at Bernstein Research. “It’s been a while since anyone has tried anything this flagrant.”