Car ; China ; Competition ; Manufactured products ; Market economy
In connection with international car exhibitions in 2007 BMW sued the importer of an SUV made in China that resembled its BMW X5 model. Equally Mercedes-Benz is considering suing a Chinese car manufacturer as his model looked very much like
the “Smart”. Such legal battles illustrate that Chinese car manufacturers have closed in on international competitors over the past years. As late as 1978, China produced only 15 000 cars, mostly hand-made. In the meantime Chinese companies have gained