Behind espionage – Chery’s spy charge shows growing pains for Chinese automakers

The standard practice for many auto sellers is to identify the most popular model and copy it as much as possible.

But in that joke there is some truth, Wen said. Domestic companies remain infantile in their approach to business even as they ponder going abroad. Their habitual plagiarism, usually ignored at home, is the root of many nasty lawsuits that have cast a negative shadow over all Chinese cars.

“I think eventually they’ll figure out how to do something original. Their copying may help them to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t,” Wen said.

South Korea’s Hyundai got its start by copying Morris Marina, and Japan’s Nissan started off copying the CKD Austin Cambridge.

“It has nothing to do with culture. It is just part of the development process. Germany went through it, Japan went through it and Korea went through it,” Wen said.

People laughed at the Hyundai when it first showed up on US shores, but today the Koreans command a significant market share.

“Chinese cars are the joke today. We’ll see if that’s still true in 10 years,” Wen said.