WEY V9X SUV: Did Great Wall Motor Just Copy Range Rover's Ad?

[DigitalToday AI Reporter] WEY, the premium SUV brand launched by Great Wall Motor, has acknowledged that it plagiarized a Range Rover advertisement and issued an apology.

On the 9th (local time), IT outlet TechRadar reported that the ad, part of a campaign marking the WEY V9X SUV launch, closely mirrored promotional imagery for the Range Rover Sport. As the controversy mounted, WEY Chairman Wei Zhangjun publicly admitted the ad was plagiarized—saying "there is no excuse"—and pledged to accept legal and financial responsibility.

Range Rover has not yet said whether it will pursue legal action, but it has a history of winning similar cases. In 2016, Jiangling Motors (JMC) released the Landwind X7, widely regarded as a copy of the Range Rover Evoque; a court ordered JMC to stop production. That ruling helped spur stronger intellectual property enforcement for automakers in China, but allegations of design copying continue across the industry.

Manufacturers such as Zeekr, XPeng, and Geely have also released EVs with styling that echoes Range Rover models, and critics inside China say design plagiarism remains a serious problem.