Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors – an up and coming Chinese car brand - will have to slow down its march into the European market because of recent Turin  court ruling.

In fact, one of the latest Great Wall Motors model – GWPeri - has been banned from Europe on the ground that its design had been cloned on Italy’s legendary and hugely successful economy car – Fiat Panda - a model that started to gain great popularity throughout the 1980s.

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors – an up and coming Chinese car brand - will have to slow down its march into the European market because of recent Turin  court ruling.

In fact, one of the latest Great Wall Motors model – GWPeri - has been banned from Europe on the ground that its design had been cloned on Italy’s legendary and hugely successful economy car – Fiat Panda - a model that started to gain great popularity throughout the 1980s.

GWPeri had been introduced at the Beijing Motor Show earlier this year. The model had immediately attracted Fiat’s critics because of its door design which looks almost the same as Fiat Panda ones. According to the court ruling, Peri “is a Fiat Panda with a different front end”.

Great Wall Motor has been ordered to pay 15,000 Euros in penalty and will be fined 50,000 Euros for each model the company should continue to bring into the European market. Needless to say, Great Wall Motor spokesman Shang Yugui complained that “Turin’s ruling is unfair and its only aim is to protect Italy’s own auto industry, as they are afraid the launch of Great Wall Gwperi may hurt the sales of Fiat Panda.”

Trying to capitalize on other brand identity has not proved to be a good plan for Great Walls Motors. In fact, although the ruling will not affect the sales of Peri outside of Europe, it will still represent a strong roadblock to the international growth of the Great Wall Motors brand.