Geely Continues Nonsense Controversy, Says It Doesn’t Copy Rolls

Even if the whole word sees it, even if the similarities between the so-called Geely GE and Rolls Royce Phantom are shockingly obvious and even if the luxury car manufacturer is already thinking at legal action, Chinese automaker Geely continues its self-defending useless campaign by claiming – hold your breath! – that its new limo doesn’t copy the Phantom at all. And more interesting is that a Geely spokeswoman admitted in front of  AFP interviewers that lots of people claimed the two models are similar in certain aspects.

"As it were, they are actually different ... people may feel they are the same at the first glance, but the details are certainly different," spokeswoman Zhang Xiaoshu told the aforementioned source.

Just as we told you in our previous coverage on the subject, Geely’s GE – which actually stands for “Geely Excellence” – boasts several Phantom-inspired parts, including the front badge perfectly resembling Rolls’ Flying Lady mascot. And yes, this is indeed a legal problem because the Flying Lady is protected by law so, everybody using it may be the subject of copyright infringement lawsuits.

Nevertheless, Rolls Royce is still considering its options, although admitting that filing a lawsuit against the Chinese automaker might be possible.

"Our colleagues in Shanghai are taking a serious look at it," a spokesman told the Daily Mail. "Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is very protective of its brand image and takes seriously any attempt to imitate its products."

"Rolls-Royce is currently keeping its options open and is in consultation with its legal advisers."

A thing that may keep Geely out of the court might be exactly the main advantage of the Chinese model in a virtual and impossible GE – Phantom competition: the price. According to reports, Rolls Royce Phantom sells its luxurious Phantom model for around 250,000 pounds (276,900 euros or $366,800) , while Geely is reportedly planning to set a price tag of no more than 30,000 pounds (33,200 euros or $44,000) for its clone.

"Due to the pricing of the car, they will not be targeting the same segment of customers. Our customers certainly would not be looking at that sort of pricing," Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific corporations manager Hal Serudin stated, hinting that the lawsuit is still on hold.