An electric car will be on sale in the Chinese market from 30 March it clearly and shamelessly resembles the Volkswagen Beetlea car that everyone knows and whose shape is legendary. Great Wall Motors will launch the Ballet Cat car under the Ora brand. Looking at it in the photo, it is easy to understand why it is possible to talk about clone without any hesitationgiven that the elements of differentiation with the ‘old’ Beetle are very few, and concentrated above all in the cockpit.
If the external bodywork is essentially that of the popular Volkswagen car, in the passenger compartment there is room for a good part of the automotive technology recently in vogue, from the satellite navigator to driving aids. Now Ballet Cat will have a 169 horsepower electric motor, capable of going up to 155 kilometers per hour; it can be purchased with a 47.8 or 59.1 kWh battery. It will have a length of 4.4 meters and a wheelbase of 2.75 meters, ideal for the space inside. The Ballet Cat is the female version of another Great Wall car, the Punk Cat.
Volkswagen has so far been on the sidelines regarding the Ballet Cat speech, but should it sue Great Wall for ‘theft’ of the Beetle design she would have every reason to be heard in court. Because in a design sector like that of the car, where inspiration is accepted normality, going and drawing almost an entire car from the history of others is quite another matter. It was not enough to change the shape of the headlights and some details in the bumper area to make the Chinese Beetle different from the German one..
The story could have a legal follow-up, given that in any case Volkswagen is present on the Chinese market with the intention of improving its results. And if it were to lose market share for a possible success of Ora Ballet Cat, it would certainly be paradoxical and unpleasant.
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