China’s Great Wall Motor Co will appeal an Italian court ruling that bars it from selling a compact car in the European Union because it too closely resembles Fiat’s Panda, a lawyer for the carmaker has said.
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“There is no doubt that we will appeal against the ruling,” he told Reuters although he added that Great Wall was still working on its response to last week’s decision.
A court in Fiat’s home town, Turin, ruled last Wednesday that Great Wall should pay a EUR15,000 (US$23,810) fine for the first compact GWPeri imported into Europe, Automotive News Europe reported last week. Further violations would carry fines of EUR50,000 per imported car, the trade paper said.
A Fiat spokesman confirmed the ruling to Reuters.
Last October, a Fiat spokeswoman in China said the Italian car maker had started legal proceedings against Great Wall in China and in Europe over the similarity of the GWPeri and the Panda, the news agency noted.
Great Wall spokesman Shang Yugui said: “We cannot accept the ruling. Let me reiterate that GWPeri was developed on our own and has no similarity to the Panda.”
A suit filed by Fiat in China was still awaiting a decision, he added.
Great Wall has sold about 4,000 units of the GWPeri in China since launch last March and it is also offered in the Middle East, South America and Russia, Shang told Reuters.
The automaker has chosen Italy as its entry point for Europe. It sells one model, an SUV called the Hover, through Italian importer Eurasia Motor.
Australian vehicle conglomerate Ateco recently announced plans to import Great Wall pickup trucks.
