Days after the GAC M8 PHEV people-mover launched in Australia, the newcomer Chinese language model might already be going through its first hurdle.
Using the ‘M8’ could also be thought of a battle, with BMW having had its personal M8 – a high-performance coupe – within the native market since late 2019.
“The BMW Group protects the well-established status of its premium merchandise, that are extremely regarded and valued by customers,” a spokesperson for BMW Australia instructed CarExpert.
“We’re conscious of this model’s use of nomenclature that’s just like the naming system utilized by BMW. Nevertheless, we don’t want to remark additional at this stage.”
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Whereas BMW has not put ahead an official opposition declare at this stage, in an interview with CarExpert, GAC Australia president Kevin Shu mentioned he wasn’t nervous.
“That doesn’t matter,” Mr Shu responded when requested a couple of potential trademark problem by BMW.
“I believe, for instance, my title is Kevin. Lots of people (are) named Kevin.
“However we simply concentrate on our persona,” he mentioned, explaining that GAC affords a number of completely different powertrain choices in its fashions to swimsuit buyer wants.

“So, completely different manufacturers have completely different model (mental property)… persona. So it is a regular state of affairs,” Mr Shu instructed CarExpert.
Although GAC has submitted a number of trademark purposes domestically, it doesn’t seem the corporate has submitted a submitting for the M8 nameplate on the time of writing.
In line with the federal authorities’s IP Australia web site, ‘BMW M8’ has been a registered trademark for nearly a decade.
It’s not the primary time BMW has had a run-in with a Chinese language automobile producer.

As reported in June 2025, BMW opposed the usage of the EX5 title by Geely, claiming it was too just like its personal X5.
Whereas that dispute is presently in a cool-down interval, BMW might have chosen to not proceed with its opposition, following an analogous – however unsuccessful – problem by Audi towards Nio.
In late 2023, Audi opposed the usage of the badges ES6, ES7, and ES8 by Nio, as a consequence of Audi’s fashions being named the S6,S7, and S8 – however was finally dominated towards by IP Australia.
