Landwind X7

The Landwind X7 is a compact crossover SUV produced by Chinese car manufacturer Landwind from August 2015 to March 2019. The car received global media attention, because the car was regarded as a cheap copy of the Range Rover Evoque. As a result, Jaguar Land Rover had tried to prevent the Landwind X7 from entering the market. On 22 March 2019, after four years of sales, a Chinese court ruled that Landwind had copied five unique design elements and ordered a cease of production and sales immediately, in addition to paying Jaguar Land Rover compensation.[1]

Before the 2017 facelift, the car was sold with a 2.0 L Mitsubishi-sourced engine, that produces a maximum of 190 PS at 5,500 rpm. The maximum torque is 250 Nm.[2] After the 2017 update, the engine was replaced by a 1.5 L Ford GTDI engine with 250 N·m that produces 162 PS between 5,400 and 5,700 rpm.[3] The 1.5 L version has a top speed of 109 mph, while the 2.0 L was listed as having a top speed of over 177 km/h.

Controversy

The Landwind X7 received worldwide media attention because of the car's resemblance to the Range Rover Evoque. Although the designs of the cars are similar, the X7 was barely over one third of the price of the Evoque when the former hit the market. Prices of the X7 started at ¥135,000 (US$ 21,700 as of August 2015), while the starting price of the Evoque amounted to ¥398,000 (US$ 64,000 as of August 2015).[9] After a new smaller engine was introduced in 2017, the X7's starting price dropped to just under ¥100,000 (US$ 15,000 as of November 2017).[10] Kits for the X7 are sold in China in order to make the car look more like the Evoque. Such kits include the grille, logos, and badges of the Evoque.

The unveiling of the X7 came just after Land Rover's parent company Jaguar Land Rover opened a new factory in the Chinese city Changshu in October 2014. The factory produces the Evoque and Discovery Sport for the Chinese market.[11] The Evoque was unveiled for the Chinese market in November 2014 at the Guangzhou Auto Show, where the X7 was unveiled as well.[3] Sales of the Evoque in China started in March 2015, five months before sales of the X7 began.[12]

Jaguar Land Rover's reaction and legal action

Jaguar Land Rover's first response came during the Guangzhou Auto Show in November 2014, when car designer Ian Callum, who works for Jaguar, tweeted pictures of the car and pointed out the resemblance between the X7 and the Evoque.[13] Furthermore, the company stated that it was investigating whether the Evoque's design elements were copied by Jiangling Motors, Landwind's parent company, and that it would "take whatever steps are appropriate to protect its intellectual property."[9][7] Jaguar Land Rover later went to court in China, but its complaints were dismissed in early 2015.[3] At the 2015 edition of Auto Shanghai, Jaguar Land Rover's CEO Ralf Speth said he regretted "that all of a sudden, copy-paste is coming up again." He added that his company could not do anything, since there were no laws against copying cars.[14]

manufacturer	Landwind
production	2015–2019
class	Compact crossover SUV
body style	5-door SUV
layout	Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
engine	1.5 L Ford GTDI turbo I4 2.0 L 4G63S4T turbo I4
transmission	8-speed automatic
wheelbase	2670 mm
length	4421 mm
width	1911 mm
height	1631 mm
weight	1775 kg
successor	Landwind Rongyao
sp	us

Background

2018 facelift

Controversy

Jaguar Land Rover's reaction and legal action

External links

References