Chinese copycat cars caused enough trouble when they were sold in China, but the new generation of copycats about to be sold in Europe are putting legitimate manufacturers on the defensive. The latest case involves the Shuanghuan Noble (pictured inset), a minicar whose styling is, to put it politely, derivative of the Mercedes Smart car. Though it was earmarked for sale shortly after its debut at the Frankfurt auto show, legal action from Mercedes could mean it’d be barred for sale, reports Automotive News.

The German importer is China Automobile Deutschland who claims it’ll sell the Noble priced at around €7,000, making it Germany’s cheapest car. A Mercedes spokesman has said the company is looking at legal action and alleges that the Noble is trying to cash in on the hip appeal of the Smart.

One factor being overlooked is safety. Mercedes can afford to sell a car like the Smart because it’s backed by their leading safety record. In crashes with much larger cars, the ForTwo has fared extremely well for such a small car. We wonder how well the Shuanghuan Noble will do.

I am so sick of these garbage copy-cats.

I say, burn down every single Chinese car manufacturing plant on this planet!

Bingo!

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This is too much for me, sue this bustards.

Quite audacious. However, whereas the Smart has a relatively stylish and trendy image, owning this faux ForTwo would be a fast trip to social Siberia.

I doubt the Chinese will ever catch-up with the Japanese or even the Korean in the automotive industry business.

The thing about Chinese industries is about making cheap Shit as quickly as possible, selling it, then grabbing the money, running away and tell the poor sod who bought the damn thing to FK-off if it complains about faults. Chinese have been doing this for a very long time, so why would you think they would change their minds by now?

I hope these punks get the hell sued out of them.

There have been already tons of lawsuits in China but it seems that they want stop until somebody burns down all of their facilities!

No I am pretty sure we all know how it would do in a crash... kill everyone inside.

Maybe smart will win this lawsuit and finally make a profit.