GM Sends Cease and Desist Message to Bricklin's Chinese Upstart Chery

Chery is Too Close to Chevy Says GM Lawyers

Intrepid entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin's new joint venture with China's Chery Automobile Co. has come under legal pressure

China's Chery Automobile Co. has come under legal pressure from the world's largest automaker, GM, because its name is too close to Chevy. (Photo: Chery Automobile Co.)

from the world's largest automaker, according to a report in Automotive News.

General Motors' lawyers forwarded Bricklin's North American retail division, Visionary Vehicles LLC, which is slated to begin selling Chery products in 2007, a letter advising that the company not attempt to secure a U.S. trademark for the Chery brand name.

Bricklin doesn't think that the issue is as much about the name similarities, as it is about the industry competition the addition of Chery will cause.

GM "said Chery sounds too much like Chevy," Bricklin told Automotive News. "I don't think so... They don't want Chinese cars coming into the U.S."

While Bricklin's assertion that GM fears Chinese competition may indeed be true, if the Chinese company's name didn't resemble Chevrolet's shortened designation at all, GM would have no argument.

But there's another underlying issue that is causing a rift between GM and Chery, aside from the premise that the

Intrepid entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin believes that GM is just trying to prevent the Chery brand from being sold in the US. (Photo: Chery Automobile Co.)

Chinese automaker has attempted to gain an advantage in world markets by aping the bowtie brand's iconic nameplate.

Still, Bricklin's announcement that his company is targeting 250,000 Chery unit sales within the brand's first year in North America alone has raised some concern among domestic automakers. Already losing market share to Japanese and South Korean rivals, GM, as well as Ford, especially don't need an even lower priced competitor vying for its customers.