A Turin court has found Great Wall Motor's minicar, the Gwperi, too similar to the Fiat Panda, and has ruled that the vehicle will not be allowed into Europe.

A Turin court has found Great Wall Motor's minicar, the Gwperi, too similar to the Fiat Panda, and has ruled that the vehicle will not be allowed into Europe.

According to a report carried by Automotive News Europe, a Turin court said in its ruling on 16 July that, "the [Gwperi] does not look like a different car but is a [Fiat] Panda with a different front end."

The court has further ruled that Great Wall must pay Fiat a €15,000 (US$23,800) fine for the first Gwperi imported into Europe. Further violations of the court's ruling will cost the Chinese OEM €50,000 per car, the report says.

Fiat originally announced its intention to sue Great Wall in December 2006 in moves aimed at blocking the sale of the Peri, then a concept, both in China and the EU.

Great Wall's Italian importer Eurasia Motors postponed the launch of the car until a decision had been made. The Peri, however, went on sale in China earlier this year. According to lawyers for Great Wall, the OEM intends to appeal the Turin court's ruling. The court case in China is still pending.

via automotiveworld