As the overall level of Chinese design rises so the clangers become more apparent. As JAC unveiled its very competent (Italian-designed) S2 SUV on one side of its stand, the S11 sat at the opposite end, most physically and metaphorically.

It’s the kind of mashup that perpetuates the myth that Chinese car design is purely a case of ctrl+C, ctrl+V. You can see for yourself that each third of this miserable debutant has been lifted from a familiar source – the front of a Lotus concept (circa Paris 2010), the center of an Audi R8 (complete with side blade and air inlet) finished off by a Ferrari California tail.

But if the copycat elements weren’t bad enough, there’s a blindness to the application of the elements – why add mock air intakes behind the doors when the engine’s in the front? And why add the awkward roofline and rear deck of a folding hardtop model when the roof is fixed?

There is good, original car design in China. However this isn’t it.

By Owen Ready

This is the Shouwang BCHD-1. Shouwang is one of many new brands that the Chinese government have mandated foreign brands launch in order to continue to sell cars in China. Shouwang is from Hyundai and is a collaboration between the Korean firm and Beijing automotive. It employs a ‘cut-out’ design theme, which sees sections of bodywork removed around the grille, A-pillar, C-pillar and trunk deck to make elements of the car (such as the A-pillars) appear as though they are floating. Proportionally quite premium, to our eyes and without knowing the exact numbers, the package appears to closely resemble that of an E60 BMW 5-series. The overall aesthetic however, reminds us more of recent Infiniti production  cars.

Previewing a forthcoming production car, what really caught our eye was how dirty and covered in dust this concept was – as if it had been hanging around in a grubby hanger for a while before being wheeled onto the motorshow stand. Like many concepts here, it also goes without an interior, sadly. Blatant design mistakes are notable too – for instance where the top of the windscreen meets the roof, the two surfaces come together to form a negative dip or ‘hole’ at the header rail. They’re the kind of things that take the shine off what is a promising start for a brand new name.

Posted by Joe Simpson

Honda continues to perplex. At a slick yet relatively understated press conference in Beijing today it unveiled two new concepts. ‘C’ is a relatively conventional, D-segment sedan. S, a low-slung, mono-volume MPV. Both impress in parts, yet the inconsistency just about sums up Honda as a brand at present. The C felt more like an Acura than a Honda. Perhaps it will one day see the light of day wearing an Acura A? For now however, this is a D-segment Honda sedan, designed specifically for the Chinese market we are told.

Judging from what we can see the effect of this Chinese market focus is much greater surface augmentation and fussy detailing than we’re used to. That’s perhaps un-surprising given what many believe is Chinese taste; the DRG in particular is very busy and bold. It features a continuous graphic with a large, full-width chrome band that thickens in its centre to frame an enlarged Honda ‘H’. Below that is the most eye-catching element of the DRG, a deep, matte-plastic section punctuated by inflection marks at its outer edge.

Given Honda’s history of producting enviably compact powertrains – which give its designers great advantages with how they can package things – it’s surprising how much bulk there is around the front end. It’s a shame that due to an apparent desire to present an imposing front end for this market, Honda has tossed aside one of its core – if subtle – design signatures.

In contrast, the Concept S, revealed at the same time, shows a very low and compact nose. The DRG on this car is much more successful and less busy than the C, it’s also lower, which given it is an MPV is impressive.

However, seeing the cars alongside each other highlights Honda’s complete lack of consistency when approaching facial design and appearance.

The hood sweeps up into a mono-volume form, the cowl point very far forward. This sets up an exceptionally fast windscreen rake. However, at the intersection of fender, DLO and A-pillar it has caused all sorts of problems because the upper fender surface and DLO appear to be collapsing in on themselves. Like many Honda MPVs, there’s precious little tumblehome; but unfortunately this gives the S a degree of ungainliness. Perhaps it permits a voluminous, impressive interior space. But we don’t know, because no interior is being shown.

Otherwise there are some interesting aspects to this concept – the dipping DLO graphic, low overall height, areas of negative/positive sculpture and lack of depth to the shoulder, allowing emphasis of the corners of the car with flared arches.

Overall, it’s pleasing to see two new concepts from Honda and the firm’s desire to ramp up its Chinese market present. However, we continue to bemoan the lack of consistency applied to the DRG graphic and the fact that, as a company, there is a complete lack of balance between the Honda brand and its supposedly more premium Acura sister. It’s a shame too that neither of these cars had interior designs that were being shown – although in fairness to Honda, that’s a growing theme of this show and of recent concepts more generally.

Posted by Joe Simpson

We all know the score – Kia is the industry darling and has been for the last couple of years thanks to its meteoric rise in quality, design and brand image.

Yet here in China – a brand-savvy market don’t forget – someone in the comms department didn’t get the memo. While at the front of the stand sit the (impressive) Rio, Optima, Sportage et al., on the main stage, next to the on-brand Trackster concept, sits a VQ-R, or a 10-year old Sedona to you and I.

As a form of low-cost, dependable transport, that’s fine, but as a piece in a strategic jigsaw in which the final picture is a design-led vista it doesn’t fit. It’s an advert for how miserable and soulless Kias used to be. Its tacked-on tiger nose grille is as unconvincing as its (beige) interior plastics.

By Owen Ready

In the scheme of Chinese copy-cat designs, this obviously Hummer-aping Dongfeng really has to be seen to be believed. What really took us by surprise was the interior design though. Incredibly, it’s actually managed to be less-well packaged than the Hummer itself.

But the interior design execution is better than the hummer with quite a neat gauge pack and some nice enough purple-blue lighting. Pity it’s all so plastic and none of the knobs actually move or turn though.

By Joe Simpson