At last weeks Beijing Auto Show several Chinese automakers were busy showing off their new cars, and also their new logos. Check out the new logos against the old logos below, and tell us what you think!
BAW (Beijing Auto Works) Old logo:
BAW New Logo:
BYD old logo:
BYD new logo:
Click continue reading to see more!
Chang’an Old:
Chang’an New:
Geely Old:
Geely New (2):
Great Wall Old:
Great Wall New:
Haima Old
Haima New (2 logos, although the first lower one has been in use for quite some time, the second one is entirely new):
JAC Old:
JAC New:
Double Ring Old:
Double Ring New:
Zotye old: (note twin Daihatsu D’s!)
Zotye New:
What do CCT readers think? Are the new logos an improvement over the old ones, or are they all bad? Let us know via the comment box!
They’re all a bit sad…
BYD has just moved up the ripoff foodchain from BMW to Bugatti.
Chang’an has discarded Starfleet for some other alien race still within Star Trek
Geely’s running with a Cadillac ripoff.
JAC - Chrysler
Haima - 90° old Mazda logo (Eunos) & some Opel/airline mashup
Pretty much every other logo has been on some other company before.
Overall they’re just cliché, please, please China get some originality! Take a risk!
JAC’s new one isn’t exactly new. As far as I know the Binyue has always had that logo.
yes, as has their SUV - the eagle thingy!
Whatever you say casper, if you’re not happy then why come here and moan, at least the new logos look better than the old ones and less “inspired”
the only similarity between Bugatti and BYD logo is the red background. The “BYD” is in metallic, “Bugatti” is just in plain white.
What’s wrong with Chang’an new logo ? at least it looks way better than that old upside down parabolic curve and look very classy, ripoff of what ? say it.
There are two new logos for Geely, for silver chrome one , it does not look like anyone out there, and for the red and black colour, i admit that it looks like part of the colour used on the cadillac logo but the cadillac log also use blue and light orange background.
JAC logo, you are right, it is obvious.
Haima logo does have a slight hint of Opel but I don’t know how the Eunos come in here.
I question whether the “old” ones shown here will all be discontinued. “JAC” for example will likely remain for non-passenger sedans.
As for Zotye, I think the one you call “new” was in use before Zotye adopted the Xindadi logo a couple of years ago. The resemblance between it and the Tianqi Meiya (Xiali) logo may be a problem.
BAW: I like hanzi on my grill.
BYD: Sorry, but “BYD” just isn’t a compelling enough name to spell out on a badge and slap on the prow.
Chang’an: However Trekkie, the old one is better.
Geeley: Checkerboard, thumbs down. Generic swoosh-thing, OK.
Great Wall: Old one is better; more evocative of the Great Wall.
Haima: Both pretty weak, but the aero wing beats the power button.
JAC: Chrysler did it first.
Double Ring: It’s all right.
Zotye: Too much Olds Aurora going on there, but not bad.
Is corporate identity taken seriously in China? If companies keep changing badge design they may end up causing confusion - especially as there are so many carmakers in China!
Don’t understand the Great Wall badge changing - very strange.
The US, Japanese and Western Europe manufacturers rarely change their badges and it is usually a minor change if any; or they go back to an old badge e.g. Fiat.
They’re probably changing to escape (or trying to escape) the poor image that has been accumulated over the decades.
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On the other hand, I like that BAW logo. That’s fairly new, I don’t think I’ve seen a logo using 漢字 yet.
i think in a lot of cases they’re just changing to avoid having a logo that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of some other company; they’re probably realising that in the international market they will have the piss taken out of them for that.
dunno if they’ve all been successful in that though. ahem JAC.
Europeans may get used to the upcoming Alfa MiTo even if it is in many countries an insult refering to someone who is a compulsive liar…but when it comes to the name of a brand it is better to warn the people at BYD that they will never sell any product under that name at least in every French-speaking countries around the world since it simply means FLOP as “bide” ! And don’t expect these drivers to make the effort to pronounce the name entirely: - What do you drive Michel ? - I’ve just bought a Build Your Dream F6. - Come again ?!
i dunno, i think people will probably laugh at it, but it won’t affect their decision to buy one or not (like the Nintendo Wii in Britain, everyone took the, er, piss out of its name when it was first announced. but it’s still gone on to be massively successful)
actually the Toyota MR2 would be a similar example - isn’t it pronounced like “merde” in french? and did that affect its sales at all?
Well actually the MR MkI was nearly unknown on french-speaking markets contrary to the MR MkII which was a hot magnet but it was indeed sold as a Toyota MR (not MR2 as worldwide) as in every other French speaking country apart Switzerland (don’t ask me why cause Belgium also has several languages). It sounds rather like “eh merde !” meaning “oh shit” thant just “merde”…Anyway the MR MkIII known as the MR-S worldwide was still sold in French speaking countries as the MR even if MR-S has no strange meaning. And it sold ok but not as good as the second generation of MR. But when it comes to name it can be weirds. Why was the Carina sold as a Corona in Greece ? Why the Hyundai Sonata was sold as a Sonica in Italy ?! I mean Italians didn’t mind buying Honda Jazz, Concerto or Prelude. And those names were not insult but an homage to classical music after all, right ?
I think you’ll find the Wii was intentionally named to sound like piss. That is clever marketing. You remember it like nothing else.
I’m not sure if the name of the MR2 was ever going to be an issue when you’re selling such a cheap mid engined rear wheel drive sports car (which is where you’ll find the name comes from) in a country that’s abandoned producing it’s own good cheap sports cars.
Now I think of it Great Wall is really just about having a a phallic monument in a circle.
What is wrong with a Chinese character that actually means something stylized into a form? I really couldn’t make out the BAW logo but if that’s what it is then great!
China has such a great history to draw forms and symbols from. The big Chinese car companies have their own stories to build on yet they’re cutting their links with their past by constantly making such superficial design decisions.
I think China doesn’t really understand what good branding is (that said most companies don’t either). It’s become a lot more about trying to take on the properties of something that is respectable because their company is not. Nothing’s changed by just copying a new logo. They’re trying to be respected but they just end up looking stupid because it’s not genuine. What they have to realise is the reason that foreigners are so skeptical is because there isn’t an ounce of authenticity behind these fake brands. I left working in China because I didn’t find businesses that respected what design is actually about. Chinese brands wont be able to compete with foreign brands until they learn how to harness the thing that makes brands work all over the world rather than selling themselves short by bastardizing someone else’s brand. Respect can’t be bought by just knocking off someone else’s design, it can only be earnt by crafting your own story.
Casper: What you say is definitely true; from what I’ve seen, there are very few firms that really innovate in China. But my reasoning is that it probably has to do with Maslow’s Theory of Needs (I know, it’s been refuted many times). After the mess and tumultuous mid 20th century, people were worried more about their basic necessities. By the time the 90s rolled around, many were finally pulled out of that gut wrenching poverty into some semblance of modern living (along with some of the nouveau rich). Of course, prior to that era, it’s hard to ask people to innovate when they were trying to scrape some money to buy clothes or food for their kids. Now that the masses have proper (or sometimes excessive) post-secondary education and many are headed off to the west for education, I’m sure that the people will demand that their own domestic companies provide the same innovation you see elsewhere in the world.
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And to tie this back to cars..hell, the Chinese auto industry, still in its infancy, is showing some signs of finally turning around with the Roewe 550, BAW 800, and numerous new Geely motors!
none of these new logos are good looking, except JAC, either its old and new logo looks alright, but aren’t they just copycats of some American brands?
Er? Which American company could BAW have possibly copied when they used the CHINESE characters for Beijing? Because it’s made of metal?