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Appealing design may convert a car into piece of coveted art
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WHEN I first gazed at the Chinese-developed Land Wind X7 SUV displayed at the recent Guangzhou Motor Show, I thought I had gone to the wrong exhibit and was standing in front of another SUV specialist brand, the Land Rover.
It was no fluke of illusion. Displaying the same cross-coupe design, the same debonair flair and even names in the same font on the bonnet lip, the Land Wind X7 and Land Rover’s best-selling Range Rover Evoque could easily pass for twins, except that the former is a copycat, two-thirds cheaper than its lookalike.
The Land Wind X7, made by the domestic joint venture of Changan and Jiangling, might be just another example of shanzhai to laugh off. The word, translated as “bandits’ stronghold” in English, is often wryly used to describe the prevailing culture of imitation that makes China the world’s top manufacturing base of copycat goods.
Still, the fact remains that these knockoffs get a pretty good reception among Chinese consumers who are smitten with foreign brand images but unable to afford them.
The manufacturer of the Land Wind X7 filed for a patent on its design even ahead of Land Rover in China, gaining an upper hand in defending its legitimacy. One Chinese media comment mused that the “Land Rover, not knowing China’s rules, might end up selling the Evoque as a knockoff.”
No matter how much I appreciate the irony here, it’s hard to feel much pride in a victory like that. How can you expect someone to beat a devil at his own game, especially when it has home advantage?
Cases of foreign carmakers suing copycats in China — like Daewoo Matiz pitted against Chery QQ and Honda CR-V against Rabo S-RV — just don’t go anywhere. The fine line between creative modification and blatant plagiarism is hard to define in China’s sometimes opaque laws. There’s a natural bias to want to protect home companies in the auto industry. No wonder so many Chinese carmakers that thrived in a culture of imitation now find it hard to break the habit and develop their own design innovation.
If copying an entire book is obviously crossing the line, then borrowing a page or two, especially from one’s joint-venture partner, is generally seen as trifling. For example, sedans made by Brilliance Auto clearly bear the signature of its partner BMW on their double kidney grill.
Unfortunately, all this doesn’t bode well for Chinese carmakers developing their own design capabilities.
It is in no way as simple as coming up with a good-looking style by patching together popular visual elements. Behind the master strokes and iconic looks of original designs, there is also a system of logic that creates a language telling consumers that they are getting a unique, exciting product that exudes a special image.
Steve Jobs once worked that magic with Apple, and so did Peter Schreyer with Kia. What a carmaker lacks in technological innovation, it can make up for in appealing design. That is a lesson that China may learn from the success of the South Korean auto industry.
A change of mindset is needed here for those who view design as icing on the cake. It is, in fact, what can turn a car into a piece of coveted art. It’s a unique signature from a creative mind that makes a statement about both the designer and the ultimate consumer. Without that, a car is just an anonymous product.
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