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Great Wall banned from importing GWPeri minicar
Luca Ciferri
Automotive News
July 18, 2008 - 9:12 am ET
TURIN -- A Turin court ruled this week that a Chinese minicar built by independent automaker Great Wall won't be allowed into Europe.
The court said the GWPeri minicar is too similar to the Fiat Panda.
Fiat sued Great Wall both in Italy and in China. Those moves were aimed at keeping the GWPeri out of the European Union and out of China. Fiat alleged that the car was a clone of its Panda minicar.
On July 16, a Turin court accepted Fiat's claims, saying in its ruling "the (GWPeri) doesn't look like a different car but is a (Fiat) Panda with a different front end."
The court ruled that Great Wall should pay a 15,000-euro fine for the first GWPeri imported in Europe. In case of further violations of the ruling, the fine grows to 50,000 euros per imported car.
Lawyers for Great Wall said the company will appeal the Turin court decision.
The court case in China is still pending. Earlier this year, Great Wall starting selling the GWPeri in China.
Fiat doesn't sell the Panda in China. The car has been Europe's best selling minicar since 2004.
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ENLARGE |
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This computer-enhanced photo of the Great Wall Peri shows in orange what sources say are the only design differences between the Peri and the Fiat Panda. |
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