It's not exactly breaking news when certain Chinese auto manufacturers decide to blatantly copy designs of cars and two-wheelers from other automakers around the world. The Chinese auto market is filled with some extremely poor examples of copycats built for mass production. From the Ducati Scrambler to the Honda Gold Wing, and the KTM 200 Duke, all found their clones existing in China. And, now joining this list is our very own Royal Enfield Himalayan. Chinese motorcycle maker Hanway decided to go for a retro-inspired look with its new G30, which looks eerily similar to the India-made adventure motorcycle.
Also Read: 2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Review
The Hanway G30 gets a 250 cc engine with 26 bhp and 22 Nm of peak torque
Don't be surprised if you thought this was indeed the classic-styled Royal Enfield Himalayan at first glance. The design language is nearly the same with the round headlamp, fuel tank design, tall windscreen and even the exposed frame. However, unlike the Himalayan that offers a ride devoid of too many electronics, the Hanway G30 is loaded on equipment and comes with a full-LED lighting set-up including a daytime running light, a 5-volt 2-ampere charging port, and a full-colour TFT console. The latter looks identical to the one of the KTM 250 Duke complete with the interface and graphics.
The Hanway G30 also gets slightly better hardware than the Himalayan with USD forks upfront and a monoshock at the rear. The bike rides on 19-inch front and 17-inch rear spoked wheels with tubeless tyres. The fuel tank is also larger than the Himalayan at 24 litres, up by five litres.
The Hanway G30 is loaded on tech complete with a TFT console, LED lighting and a 5-volt charging port
The Hanway G30 though is powered by the 249.2 cc liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine that develops 26 bhp and 22 Nm of peak torque. The Chinese bike gets 280 mm and 240 mm disc brakes at either end and also comes with dual-channel ABS as standard. The G30 was recently launched in China at a price of 17,280 Chinese Yuan (around Rs. 1.92 lakh), which makes it cheaper than the Himalayan too.
Also Read: carandbike Awards 2021: Royal Enfield Is The Two-Wheeler Manufacturer Of The Year
The Hanway G30 is more attractively priced and is aimed at beginner adventure riders
However, it's just unfortunate that the company had to copy the design instead of creating its own from the ground up to go with those figures. The Royal Enfield Himalayan, meanwhile, was recently updated for the 2021 model year with new colours, subtle styling revision and the new Tripper app. The bike has found an audience outside of India as much as domestically in more recent years. RE exports the adventure motorcycle to Europe, other parts of Asia and the US.
That being said, it needs to be seen how Royal Enfield will respond to this. Over the years, there has been little success with auto brands winning copyright infringement cases in China. However, 2019 was a landmark year in this regard when Jaguar Land Rover won the case against Chinese automaker Jiangling Motor Corporation (JMC) for selling a copycat version - the Land Wind X7 - of the Evoque SUV. A Beijing court ruled in favour of the British automaker and ordered that production must stop immediately. JMC was also asked to pay compensation to JLR for the same. At the time, the win was a first in the global car industry with no secure legal redress from Chinese courts previously in this regard.
