Jaguar Land Rover CEO unhappy with copycat Chinese cars

Expressing fear, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) CEO Ralf Speth has said that the increasing cases of "copy paste" of vehicles in China would slow down the appetite of carmakers, including his, to introduce latest designs and technologies in the biggest passenger vehicle market in the world, according to an ET report.

JLR has lost an appeal with the Chinese authorities to stop the manufacturing of LandWind X7, a copy of the company's SUV, Evoque. "We have two cars (Chinese products) which copy Evoque. One is more or less a copy paste. They not only copy pasted the exterior, but also the interior. It is a pity for us and for the overall economy and the reputation of China because I thought copying was a thing of the past," Speth told the financial daily at the recent Tata Motors earnings conference in Mumbai.

The customer knows how to judge the original product, he said, adding China has enough creativity and engineering power to do something on its own and not depend on copying.

Meanwhile, JLR has committed over $1.8 bn to the Chinese market along with their JV partner Chery. The market is one of the significant contributors for the carmaker's marquee brands. Over the last few years, the contribution of sales from China has gone up from 18-20% to 25-30% in JLR's annual volumes. The company sold over 1,19,000 vehicles in China out of the 4,70,000 vehicles sold globally in the FY-15.

According to analyst estimates, China contributes about 25% of JLRs volumes, 34% of its revenues and 44% of its profits. JLR has cushioned Tata Motors financials over the last few years.

The luxury car market in China stands at 1.8 million vehicles annually and is growing at over 20% with three German brands Audi (6 lakh), BMW (4 lakh)and Mercedes (3 lakh) making up for almost 72% of the overall market.

LandWind, is a joint venture between China's Changan Auto and Jiangling Motors, which produces a series of SUVs sold predominantly for the Chinese domestic market.

The LandWind X7 is expected to be rolled out for commercial sales in the next few months, priced almost at a third of the price of Range Rover Evoque at 1,50,000 Yuan ($24,200) versus 4,50,000 Yuan ($72,600).

(Image: Reuters)