Lifan 320 to begin production this year in China

Mini Cooper seems to have spurred a lot of look-alikes. Chinese roads are set to see one such beauty in the shape of Lifan 320.
Lifan 320: A BMW Mini Cooper clone?

Almost similar to the Mini Cooper, the Lifan 320 will go into production at the Chongqing Lifan Holdings Co plant in China this September.

To be powered by a 1.3-liter gasoline engine produced by Lifan, the car will also sport a 1.1-liter engine in the car from the beginning of next year. Lifan is currently testing the newly developed 1.1-liter engine for the car which will carry a five-speed manual transmission.

The Lifan 320, which was showcased by the carmaker at the recent Beijing auto show, is a five-seater 3,745 mm long, 1,620 mm wide and 1,430 mm high. Though Lifan hasn’t decided yet on the pricing, but it is likely to sport  an amount less that 50,000 yuan ($7,243) at showrooms.

Meanwhile, as the talk of similarities with the Mini Cooper gains momentum, the company made it clear it that it had fully considered intellectual property rights issues when designing the car. Lifan said that it had no worries about being sued for violating the intellectual property of other companies. Further, it is also likely that the company would export the look-alike car from China shortly.

The Lifan 320 may be considered a major step in the company’s operations as it had been all along been seen as a producer of motorcycles and general-purpose engines. A small player, Lifan began producing cars in late 2005 and has to date only launched the 520 sedan and its hatchback version. It sold about 30,000 units of the 520 in 2007.

The company which had plans to go global earlier via the Vietnam route is now reworking its strategy, it is believed. Lifan, which was expected to invest $50 million in its manufacturing plant in Vietnam, to make 50,000 sedans annually by 201, is said to have put those plans in the back burner due to economic uncertainties in Vietnam.