[damager21]

Landwind Motors has finally launched the supremely controversial Landwind X7 SUV on the Chinese car market. Price starts at 129.800 yuan (INR 13.34 lacs) and ends at 147.800 yuan (INR 15.18 lacs).



The X7 is an almost perfect 1:1 clone of the Range Rover Evoque, but sells for three times less which sells at INR 40.86 to 56.68 lacs.




The X7 is available with only one engine; a Mitsubishi sourced 2.0 turbo petrol with 190hp and 250nm, mated to an eight-speed automatic, FWD. Fuel consumption: 10.4 liter per 100 kilometer.

Range Rover Evoque 5-door: 4365/1900/1635, wheelbase is 2660 and kerb weight is 1850 kilo.

Landwind X7: 4420/1910/1630, wheelbase is 2670 and kerb weight 1775 kilo.

Size wise, it is the same car. Interestingly, the Evoque is 75 kilo heavier.

Landwind is a Chinese car maker jointly owned by Jiangling Motors and Changan Auto, coincidentally both joint venture partners of Ford, with Jiangling-Ford and Changan-Ford respectively. Ford owned Land Rover-Range Rover until 2008 when they sold it on to the TATA conglomerate of India.

The X7 might be much cheaper than the Evoque, but isn’t a bare bones budget vehicle, not at all. The list of standard equipment is simply impressive. All variants will get:

ABS, EBD (electronic brake force distribution system), ESC (electronic stability control system), TCS (traction control system), PBA (emergency brake assist system), HAC (uphill start assist system), HDC (downhill assist system), CBC (a set of 8 other unspecified safety support systems), heated and electronically adjustable exterior mirrors, electronic parking brake, electronic parking brake, dual front airbags, keyless start / entry, electronic dimming inside rear view mirror, reverse camera imagery, automatic air conditioning, automatic wipers, an 10.2 inch touch screen for the infotainment system, cruise control, GPS navigation, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Additionally, the top spec version gets: roof rails, leather seats, heated seats, electrically adjustable seats, lane departure warning system, an eight speaker sound system, a panoramic sunroof (1100x950mm), and a tire pressure monitoring system.

[super.cars]

the exhaust looks ugly and the rear styling looks like EcoSport (not Evoque) on first floor

[mayankk]

I love it!
But there is no way that's going to come to a regulated market, India least of all, since LR is Indian. Shame. We could have a factory copy, rather than turning our thats and boleros into LRs. Karol bagh would have floundered.
What I don't understand is the newly rich/comfortable Chinese are EXTREMELY brand conscious. How do they expect a market for a piece by piece copy which is shouting that I am a copy of an Evoque?

[Soumyajit9]

I like it

With those long list of Gizmos & Safety stuff, you can only buy a high end German 3 here in India. Sad state of affairs here.

The only concerning thing, which many would ask is - Would these Gizmos & Safety stuff work when needed, or all those tested only realtime ?

On a serious note, why can't our manufacturers give us all these, since all of them have their own setup here in India ? What is stopping them ?

[Jeeper1941]

The Chinese have to be ashamed of themselves, blatantly ripping-off the Land Rover Evoque. But then again they have no concept of what "Intellectual Property" actually means, as you can buy fakes of almost anything in China, from Prada handbags to Rolex watches. And its not just stuff you can buy, they copy almost everything!

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/th...art-of-china-1

I can't imagine anyone buying this heap of junk outside China.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

And its not just stuff you can buy, they copy almost everything!

I agree with you & also its a well known fact that the Chinese are experts in producing replicas of almost anything on earth using cheaper materials & selling them at far cheaper costs. However, I feel that this is not of China's doing entirely, America has always hired countries with far less value currency to do the manufacturing for them & among their chief favourites has always been China. One look at the number of U.S companies manufacturing purely in China for their home market will show the numbers are staggering.

For example Apple & Sony which are at the forefront of technological quality & reliability both make their phones in China. Timex makes the majority of the watches with Chinese movements to make it cheaper, Philips also manufactures most of its components there. China is the majority owner of Volvo Car Corp (last I heard) under the Geely Holding Group. Suffice to say that this is perhaps the country with most knowledge of production processes across a variety of products.

Only, this knowledge can be exploited because they know exactly how to polish and put-together products which might seem extremely high quality from outside but on the inside it'll be low-cost, fragile components for their dirt-cheap goods. However when subjected to strict quality-control by European or American companies they do know how to make products to rival or beat even French/German assembly. The fact in the end is that China
still relies on numbers because either way their margins are low. Being a world of its own and having so much knowledge about manufacturing this knock-off industry had to happen. Its good in the sense that they are tearing down the 'halo' that most luxury good manufacturers seem to create to justify 300-400% inflated prices, at the same time its also terrible that such spin-offs have little to none quality control or very little imagination. Either way they are exploiting the one aspect that attracts a few buyers - pricing.

[Dry Ice]

Well, I like it. But simply because it looks like Evoque.

Originally Posted by damager21

The X7 is available with only one engine; a Mitsubishi sourced 2.0 turbo petrol with 190hp and 250nm, mated to an eight-speed automatic, FWD.

...CBC (a set of 8 other unspecified safety support systems)

Thank god they at least sourced a proper engine and didn't go ahead and create a replica of that too!

That said, higher prices the brands charge is seldom the sum of all things put into the product. They charge what they do simply because they can. The Brand that they have established over the years allows them to get away with such high prices. It also means, the objects stay out of the reach of common man and remain exclusive, thus soaring its aspirational value.

[srishiva]

Even for a copy, I like the way the vehicle is put together. Look at the panel gaps, the interior. Indian manufacturers should take a cue on the manufacturing prowess of the Chinese. Relative to our car makers, I would assume they would be better.

They seem to be behind only in conceptualizing the product and they seem fine putting together. (in a sense they are still catching up) I wonder if they work with famed design houses, get them design some good looking cars and manufacture them at value for money costs.

[prakhar1998]

Its funny how the interiors of the Landwind resembles the interiors of the Tata Zest. Its almost like a big punch to Tata's face.

Quite an impressive price really. Not sure if it'll do well in a crash test, or about its reliability though.

[noopster]

Shameful really. I feel bad for the designers at JLR who created the Evoque design- they must be crying themselves to sleep at night!
It's one thing to be inspired by great designs and come up with something affordable for the masses- quite another to blatantly rip off a luxury marque and mass produce wannabe lookalikes. The scary part is that they have got it (at least in pics) so similar-looking!

[Jeeper1941]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I agree with you & also its a well known fact that the Chinese are experts in producing replicas of almost anything on earth using cheaper materials & selling them at far cheaper costs. However, I feel that this is not of China's doing entirely, America has always hired countries with far less value currency to do the manufacturing for them & among their chief favourites has always been China. One look at the number of U.S companies manufacturing purely in China for their home market will show the numbers are staggering.

For example Apple & Sony which are at the forefront of technological quality & reliability both make their phones in China. Timex makes the majority of the watches with Chinese movements to make it cheaper, Philips also manufactures most of its components there. China is the majority owner of Volvo Car Corp (last I heard) under the Geely Holding Group. Suffice to say that this is perhaps the country with most knowledge of production processes across a variety of products.

Only, this knowledge can be exploited because they know exactly how to polish and put-together products which might seem extremely high quality from outside but on the inside it'll be low-cost, fragile components for their dirt-cheap goods. However when subjected to strict quality-control by European or American companies they do know how to make products to rival or beat even French/German assembly. The fact in the end is that China
still relies on numbers because either way their margins are low. Being a world of its own and having so much knowledge about manufacturing this knock-off industry had to happen. Its good in the sense that they are tearing down the 'halo' that most luxury good manufacturers seem to create to justify 300-400% inflated prices, at the same time its also terrible that such spin-offs have little to none quality control or very little imagination. Either way they are exploiting the one aspect that attracts a few buyers - pricing.

I agree with you. However, the fact that JLR can charge a premium for the car is because of the fact that it is the 'real deal'. I think they are justified in charging a premium (though I agree that 300-400% premium is a bit too much!) because they're the ones who came up with the design etc. and rightfully so. No one should blatantly copy something, even if it is a cheaper version because the copycat devalues the original. I mean why would you buy a $80k car if most people think it is a $20k knock off. The general population doesn't see the difference.

I honestly think that it's theft, pure and simple. It wouldn't even matter if it was better than the original (which it obviously isn't).

[Manoj2268]

This would probably break down less than Bhpian Mad Monkey's and the Ludhiana guy's troublesome Range Rovers . The vehicle looks extremely well screwed together.

The Chinese have the ability to manufacture at different levels, using A,B,C grade materials to a fixed price point. That is one of their biggest advantages...

[jhaji]

Originally Posted by noopster

Shameful really. I feel bad for the designers at JLR who created the Evoque design- they must be crying themselves to sleep at night!
It's one thing to be inspired by great designs and come up with something affordable for the masses- quite another to blatantly rip off a luxury marque and mass produce wannabe lookalikes. The scary part is that they have got it (at least in pics) so similar-looking!

Before condemning this wholesale, just think how inventions have spread out into the world through times immemorial right up till now. Something is invented and liked in one place, it travels to another place, a lot of similar things appear in many places, sometimes better ones which are an improvement, and so on. It is just that no monetary account was kept of all the 'designs' that circulated and found home in distant places. Situation has changed with the invention of 'intellectual property rights'.

Do we have to keep paying for the R&D that produced Range Rover? It is like going on paying toll for highways and bridges where the costs have been recovered manifold. If a company can provide a fairly good version of Range Rover for 1/3rd or half of the cost, that is also a kind of innovation. And apparently the Chinese are doing it within the ambit of current international laws. Irrespective of whether one agrees or disagrees, I for sure do not see much ground for moral outrage.

[SmartCat]

JLR shouldn't worry about these things actually. A Landwind X7 customer was never a JLR customer in the first place. Meanwhile, a customer who can actually afford an Evoque will never buy this - so there is no question of loss of sales.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by jhaji

Do we have to keep paying for the R&D that produced Range Rover? It is like going on paying toll for highways and bridges where the costs have been recovered manifold. If a company can provide a fairly good version of Range Rover for 1/3rd or half of the cost, that is also a kind of innovation. And apparently the Chinese are doing it within the ambit of current international laws. Irrespective of whether one agrees or disagrees, I for sure do not see much ground for moral outrage.

I think this is where you lost the plot a bit. While someone who can produce a same quality stuff at 1/3rd the price is most welcome to do so, provided he/she does not use the know-how developed by the original party without the permissions of the said party, you certainly can't blatantly copy something to make it look like a replica. Then you are obviously up to no good. It is no better than people producing fake currency notes of Rs.1000 and then selling them off to the agents in this country for Rs.50 each. By the way, the toll collection example does not work because as you said, when that's beyond the cost of building the infra and a reasonable profit on it then it becomes a wrong. But in case of vehicles which need to be completely updated every 4-5 years the humongous investments need to be recouped in a shorter period. And that obviously jacks up the costs further.

We all start seeing the moral outrage the day we produce something original and the guy next to us immediately copies it and starts undercutting our offering. Till then it is the me-myself syndrome that makes us think that if I have nothing to lose in this whole deal but may gain a cost advantage then let others interest be dammed.

Now, there does arise a moral dilemma where more finer human aspects like question of life is involved. Like in the case of very costly drugs that some of the poorest African nations can't afford. Should they be supplied a cheaper alternative? Probably Yes. But something as material as a car? Nope. There is every reason to be morally outraged about such thefts of ideas and designs.

Originally Posted by smartcat

JLR shouldn't worry about these things actually. A Landwind X7 customer was never a JLR customer in the first place. Meanwhile, a customer who can actually afford an Evoque will never buy this - so there is no question of loss of sales.

That is true to a big extent though. However, the whole thing here is about the fact that the design originality has now been lost due to someone copying it.

However, there will be a percentage of people who can afford the price of the Evoque but otherwise do not give two hoots about the RR brand. They will be happy to acquire this at a fraction of the cost.