Since the first Mini Cooper rolled off the factory line in 1959 in Oxford, it was an instant classic. Affordable, stylish, and teeny-tiny for city driving, the British Motor Corporation probably didn’t realize what a hit they had on their hands.
The Mini has gone through many iterations, including its latest as an electric vehicle marque, and along the way, it has inspired many competitors… some MUCH MORE DIRECTLY than others!
Here is the real deal, a genuine Mini Cooper E. Not my cup of tea, but the styling is undeniable:
How many Chinese knockoffs of the Mini Cooper exist? At least 3.
When I think of examples to explain to non-car people how the Chinese automotive industry steals car designs, I typically default to the Mini Cooper. Simply because it is so distinctive that no one can reasonably claim that they simply “innovated” their way into design a car that looks just like it.
Lifan 320 E
“That looks… familiar.” – me when I first saw the Lifan 320 E.
2011 Lifan 320. The official car of?
byu/Dbwasson inregularcarreviews
Geely Embrand EC6-RV
Embrand is Geely’s premium lineup. Sort of like Toyota has Lexus, Geely has Embrand. For my non-China people, Geely is an enormous automotive manufacturer, the number 3 producer in China. This is like if Dodge built a knock-off F-150 and called it the Dodge F-160.
Beijing Estech Technology Co’s Mystery Patent
They named it “Electric Car,” but they might as well have called it the “1959 Mini Cooper.”
They very kindly patented it – that’s where the image comes from, the Chinese patent application.
After all, you wouldn’t want some jackass to come up and STEAL THE DESIGN, would you?
The kicker here: The Mini Cooper E is available in China, manufactured locally under license by Great Wall Motors! The other manufacturers evidently just don’t want to pay for the design, and so they steal it instead. These are not small companies doing hoodrat stuff. These are large state-supported Chinese mega-firms.
