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Old 2nd February 2010, 18:23   #31
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I have a doubt here. If Chinese were to bring the QQ which is a copy of the Matiz, will GM be able to sue them for copying here in India(the same case where they lost in China)? I remember reading QQ's review in some singapore forum but my guess then was GM may not be having interest in the market and hence Chery went scot free. However with GM having a presence in the small car market here, is it possible?

And generally if they are to bring their copied products of any other manufacturer can the original manufacturer stop the launch of the product?

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Old 3rd February 2010, 10:06   #32
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You raise a pertinent question, Pacman. Chinese policies seem to support blatant plagiarism in their country; however, in India, its an entirely different story.

GM, just as other manufacturers who have been in the country for over a decade, has effective lobbyists in place at Delhi. There is no ways GM would allow a cheap copy of their product to be sold in the market. Whose side do you think the authorities will be on? A well known brand that has invested heavily in India and is currently in expansion mode? Or an unknown cheap rip-off artist who has zero presence?
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Old 3rd February 2010, 10:56   #33
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The Japs entered a market (west, read prosperous) where no segment for compact cars existed so they only had to fight for acceptance of segment (no mean task, agreed) against local and established big cars but Koreans had to compete with the Japs and they did it as their engineering, build quality was criticized in initial foothold-gaining period, so they covered it up with good A.S.S. (like Hyundai in India) and low-cost products (Honda and Toyota happen to be premium in our market, so competition was Maruti and Tata who were on same platform as regards engineering and quality), made money, improved cars, got bigger. Chinese will have to compete against all these. If the QQ launches here, I am sure many people will find it cute, after all, Santro sold huge and so did WagonR (in fact, so did the 800, despite being dubbed a 'dabba' initially, hehe). If low prices and reliability work it, Chery indeed will have arrived. Only thing, cars are not Diwali twinkling lights or cheap electronic toys (buy at ridiculously low cost and discard) to have them go broke on you on a highway.
@pacman, GTO:
Very pertinent issue indeed. The govt itself worries regarding industrial expansionist policies of China affecting local businesses, let alone a foreign player like GM whose own existence is feeble and precarious at present (in the larger scheme). Today they bring cars, tomorrow they sell accessories. Cheap seat covers, anyone? Occupy the industry from the bottom up is the Chinese mantra. And their businesses are driven by regimes which might sacrifice profits in favour of gaining market position initially, given the expansionist approach. Father dreams the noodle dream, son dreams of kung fu, grandson sells Chery?

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Old 5th February 2010, 15:52   #34
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ahem ahem so the Chinese are going to enter Indian market. Will it revolutionize the industry as they have done for our electronics industry....need to wait and watch.....
I strongly feel the cars by Chinese look ugly..ny idea what will be maintenance cost of these vehicles and spare parts cost in India.
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Old 5th February 2010, 17:50   #35
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If the chinese companies can bring their products to india ,why can't indian brand sell it in china.
Maybe 'cos they have a law which forces companies to have JV's with chinese companies before launching the cars.
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Old 5th February 2010, 17:54   #36
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I was on this American car forum recently scouting for some information on the Optimus Prime truck and chanced upon this thread that had the Americans, (and this is a country where the people have been injured for choosing or siding or working with the wrong brand) taking about there choice between the Indian cars in the Market v/s the Chinese Entrants.

Incidentally some American guy mentioned T Bhp as well, but the over all poll and view sided with India. Its nice to see the same happening here was well not that it wasn't expected.

But is the Tiggo better than the Scorpio in terms of Engine specs? Any views on the matter.
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Old 5th February 2010, 18:52   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
You raise a pertinent question, Pacman. Chinese policies seem to support blatant plagiarism in their country; however, in India, its an entirely different story.

GM, just as other manufacturers who have been in the country for over a decade, has effective lobbyists in place at Delhi. There is no ways GM would allow a cheap copy of their product to be sold in the market. Whose side do you think the authorities will be on? A well known brand that has invested heavily in India and is currently in expansion mode? Or an unknown cheap rip-off artist who has zero presence?
IMO Chinese car running (may be be few and eventually die one day ) on India roads will be a reality in near future. Except for QQ I don't think GM's lobby can pressurize Indian Govt. to put brakes on other Cherry cars.

The only thing which can hold back Cherry is negative feedback on their feasibility study!!

Last edited by HammerHead : 5th February 2010 at 18:54.
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Old 5th February 2010, 19:06   #38
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If the chinese companies can bring their products to india ,why can't indian brand sell it in china.
Maybe 'cos they have a law which forces companies to have JV's with chinese companies before launching the cars.
China is a more aggressive country than India when it comes to manufacturing. China has been very successful in dumping low quality products all over the world. Recently, several toys in North America which were made in China had harmful elements in them wew pulled out of markets. China has a much larger cost advantage than India in manufacturing thanks to government control of raw materials and resources. Now India has a small presence in China, but not very significant. China knows the car market in India and they will offer a very cheap model which we will happily lap up. We are the ones who create a demand for their cars. As for product duplication, yes i agree with all those who said that China imitates well established brands by making a similar product of lower quality for a third the original price! Who wouldn't buy it??
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Old 5th February 2010, 19:10   #39
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China knows the car market in India and they will offer a very cheap model which we will happily lap up. We are the ones who create a demand for their cars.
Completely agree with you brother. But IMHO the fact that its a free market means no one is forcing us to buy the car. If they offer something no one else is which is why I think they conduct a feasibility study then they might as GTO pointed out follow a Pattern.
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Old 5th February 2010, 19:52   #40
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The way I look at it, Chinese cars can bring another round of price wars provided they have some quality to prove there. The thing is IF they improvise on quality and bring some good stuff here, THEN there definitely is a possibility of price war. However, considering other Chinese products that we have seen till now, this seems to be quite a long shot for Cherry. But we dont knwo if some day they they grab the nerve of the consumers here that is good quality, good features, good safety at reasonable prices. India as such, is a difficult market to crack.
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Old 6th February 2010, 00:41   #41
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We, me included, look at the Chinese and their products with contempt and revulsion. What amaze others and make us proud, are just as applicable to them as well. China still is a 3rd world country but produces talented scientists and enggs and can send a man to space. We are proud of the superiority of our IITs, and they pride themselves at their achievements in the math Olympiad. And in all probability, if the Japs and Koreans can achieve something spectacular, odds are in favor of the Chinese-people of the same stock- with their unique oxymoronic capitalism with communist traits, following suit.

Last edited by VINUMON : 6th February 2010 at 00:43.
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Old 6th February 2010, 02:56   #42
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I am not very sure of this but most of the reactions here look exaggerated to me. First of all, the build quality of these vehicles may be a suspect. But beyond that what do we know? No one has yet test-driven these vehicles. We are going by mere hearsay and general aversion.

The point here is that Chery is pretty successful in China. And they are ambitious. A write-up on this company here in wikipedia could be an eye-opener. They are leaving no stones unturned. When you look at the people whom they have got involved for designing the looks (bertone and pininfarina) or even the mechanicals (AVL, Ricardo, Lotus, Bosch) of their newer gen cars you start seeing the bigger picture. They are even developing Hybrids now. Their newest engine (branded ACTECO) is even Euro IV compliant.

Although Chery is predominantly Chinese as of now they have a presence in Iran, Russia, Malaysia, Egypt etc through some sort of manufacturing arrangement or the other. Why, they even export their cars to Singapore which is a pretty discerning country by itself.

Now tell me, does it all sounds like a feather-weight pugilist taking a wild swing at a Goliath to you? Maybe it does. But the point here is that the pugilist is pretty agile and has planned well. It is trying to plug all the holes in its armour. I do not think Chery is something to be written off so easily. And finally, Chinese buy these cars in lakhs every year. Do you think if these cars would have been so dangerous as some of you portray them as they would have managed to sell so many out there every year, for so many years? To me it almost sounds like the Tata story. They are bad. Their plastics fall off at the mere touch. Engine parts start falling off within the first month. Believe me I have heard all these and more here on this board itself. And yet people know the story.

Do not write off your competitors. For, a David also managed bring down a mighty Goliath.
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Old 6th February 2010, 12:24   #43
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Cherry Tiggo

2.4 motor,permanent AWD with varying levels of torque distribution.

Leather seats standard,ABS, side and curtain airbags along with dual front airbags, BAS with EBD and ESP. Traction control

Claimed price band was in the region of 6.5-7.0 lakh.
7 lakh for a suv with all those features .looks tempting
lets wait for gto for the test drive and decide
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Old 7th February 2010, 13:28   #44
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7 lakh for a suv with all those features .looks tempting
lets wait for gto for the test drive and decide
thats the price of a 2005-6 CRV (used ofcourse).. and personally, I would buy that instead of a new chinese car
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Old 7th February 2010, 22:41   #45
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CHERY J-ONE
First look at it reminded me of a Fiat Panda, but thankfully this car doesn't appear to be copied from any other car, though some profile resembles me of some Jap tall boys also)
Copied from a Daihatsu. YRV or something like that.
Tiggo is a mix of Treios and Rav4.
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