Chinese bus manufacturer Zonda yesterday denied German automaker MAN AG's accusation of design patent infringement.

 

Zonda spokesman Ji Lijun told a Beijing press conference yesterday that the firm, based in East China's Jiangsu Province, did not copy the design of MAN's Neoplan Starliner bus.

 

MAN announced in Beijing last Friday that it had filed a lawsuit against Zonda for alleged patent infringement.

 

MAN claimed that the exterior design of Zonda's A9 large-sized bus is a complete copy of the Neoplan Starliner, demanding that Zonda cease production of the model.

 

However, Zonda said there are many major differences between the designs of the A9 and the Starliner.

 

"The A9 was developed ourselves based on experiences acquired over the past decade. We have a strong independent development capacity," Ji said.

 

Zonda's A9 went on sale in China in 2004. The Neoplan Starliner was launched in Germany in the same year, but has yet to be introduced to the Chinese market.

 

"It is Zonda's rise in both the domestic and overseas markets that raises European bus manufacturers' concerns. It (MAN) wants to use the lawsuit to attack us," Ji said.

 

He said Zonda and a Turkish automaker had reached an agreement to build a 3,000-unit bus plant in Istanbul, paving the way for its entry into Europe, MAN's major market.

 

He said Zonda's domestic sales surged 89 percent in the first three quarters of this year, while its exports rocketed 249 percent over the same period.

 

The company now has five plants in China with a combined annual manufacturing capacity of 15,000 medium- and large-sized buses.

 

Ji said Zonda expects its overseas sales will account for three-fifths of its total annual bus sales in the years to come.

 

"Meanwhile, it will be our priority in the overseas market to build assemble plants and transfer technology," he said.

 

At home and abroad, Zonda's buses are far cheaper than comparable European models, according to Ji.

 

Many foreign automakers, such as US firm General Motors and Japan's Toyota, Honda and Nissan have taken unsuccessful legal action against Chinese firms over their alleged piracy.

 

MAN currently runs a bus chassis joint venture in Central China's Henan Province with Yutong, the nation's leading medium- and-large-sized bus manufacturer.

 

(China Daily October 24, 2006)