In China imitation is less a form of flattery than a business strategy. This week luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, UK subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors, fingered local carmakers Jiangling Motors and Chang’an Auto for making a copycat version of the company’s sport utility vehicle. Jiangling Motors called the claim “irresponsible”.
Chinese car marques have had a hard time at home. Wealthier consumers have preferred foreign brands as a sign of status and for their perceived superior quality. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, domestic passenger vehicles’ share of the Chinese market has fallen in each of the past four years. It now sits at 38 per cent.
That may be changing. In the first quarter, Chinese passenger vehicle volumes grew one-fifth, with market share up 4 percentage points. The reversal is down to SUVs. Sales of these more than doubled year-on-year, outstripping sales of Chinese branded saloon cars and accounting for a third of the 2.3m Chinese branded cars sold in the first quarter.