Car enthusiasts are familiar with the Mini-derived Moke which was made from 1964 to 1993 successively in the UK, Australia and Portugal.
The Official new Moke:
Efforts had been underway to recreate and relaunch the Moke by various companies, and eventually Australian company Moke Motors, later Moke International, tied up with Chery subsidiary SICAR Vehicle Technology Development Co., Ltd. (which is also involved with Qoros) to have the new Moke built in China, redesigned and upgraded by Hong Kong-based Michael Young.
New Mokes have already been shipped to various islands and nations within the last year.
Chongqing HuaZhuoda Power Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a seller of Mokes under the brand-name Moko. The HZD GD04/GQ04 is available as an electric or a 1.0 L gasoline engine powered car. Knocked-down kits can also be purchased.
Chongqing Big Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. (重庆比格科技发展有限公司) [or China Big Science & Technology Development (Group) Co., Ltd. 中国比格科技发展(集团)有限公司] is another purveyor of Mokes, which claims affiliation to the Brilliance Auto group as well as a long tradition of making Moke copies and parts. Their Mokes do not have a brand name as such, but are listed sometimes as BIGMT. Available as gas and electric versions in turnkey or KD form. The company does not have a standalone website.
Visually, the vehicles are indistinguishable from the HuaZhuoda Moko.
Noun Electric, which sells small electric vehicles in France, began selling the NoSmoke, powered by a 10 kW motor, in 2014.
The NoSmoke is made by Shandong Tangjun Ouling, better known by its brand name T-King, which also supplies Noun with its small car Tianshi.
The eMK6, introduced in 2012, is a two-seat electric Moke propelled by a 15 kW motor which is assembled in La Valette-du-Var, France.
Although the makers deny their product being Chinese, an excerpt from the book "Classic Mini Specials and Moke" by Keith Mainland reveals: "Also in 2012, an electric Moke called the eMk6 appeared in France using a revised Moke hull produced in China." (Google books) The exact origin of this vehicle is thus unknown.
Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône-based BurBy's group, which deals mainly in golf carts and light ATVs, offers this Chinese-sourced E-Moke since the beginning of this year. It is claimed to be assembled locally. The origins are the same as the Noun NoSmoke, i.e Tangjun Ouling.
Specs are identical to NoSmoke:
Dimensions: LxWxH 3.18 x 1.45 x 1.55 m
Unladen weight: 550 kg
Power: 10 kW
Max. speed: 70 km/h
Noun has transferred most of the manufacturing processes of the NoSmoke to Cartol, an industrial company operating at the site of the former Heuliez factory in Cerizay, France. Per reports, the chassis and frame are made here but batteries, electrical and drive-train components are brought from China. It is claimed by the company (Noun) that improved materials (such as ArcelorMittal steel) and technological processes (better anti-corrosion treatment, robotic welding) are now being employed to address previous complaints concerning build and material quality of Chinese-sourced vehicles. The chassis has been redesigned as well for sturdiness.
Meanwhile, a company called Shandong JHC New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd., reportedly a subcontractor of T-King and therefore familiar with Moke manufacturing, tried exporting a few Moke copies to Europe for a while, but Noun put a stop to this and had the vehicles impounded (early batches of NoSmoke too were made by JHC).
Besides, Noun has also stopped marketing the Tianshi small car from T-King due to spare parts supply issues.
I really cannot trace who finally held the license to Moke IP after Cagiva's "continuation" attempt to complete some unfinished Mokes in Italy around 1995 (after Portuguese production had ended) and/or its failed attempt to restart Moke production in earnest.
It is more or less known that jigs and tooling were sold to an unidentified party in China, but about the IP (i.e. the right to sell Moke successors as "Moke") I have no idea. Does the current "Moke International" hold the IP for the original Moke? I haven't seen that being mentioned. A case may be made for MV Agusta, but it certainly would not be BMW. Has it lapsed somehow? Again, no idea.
Meanwhile, some nondescript companies in the UK, Australia or France did try to stake claims to being the rightful owners of the Moke brand and being "official" manufacturers/traders of Moke parts, but even then most of them were traders of goods from China, or in rare cases, fabricators of panels or parts from so-called "original" drawings.
Would be glad if anyone has more up-to-date info and can enlighten us here.
In the USA, American Custom Golfcars, Inc. has registered the TRADEMARK "MOKE", but perhaps not the rights to its build, and I'm sure other companies would have done so in other jurisdictions as well (Australia, etc.).
Moke International is currently operating from Aston Abbotts, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK. On their "About Us" page (link), Moke International says the new Moke designed by Michael Young was reborn in 2018, effectively omitting any reference to the Australian/Chinese chapter and the Sicar-engineered iteration. According to them, the Moke is partly built in the UK with final assembly taking place in Cerizay, France (photo).
Note, in post #14, I mentioned Noun of France getting their version assembled in Cerizay. Coincidence, or the same factory? I don't know.
Moke International has its own assembly workshop at the ex-Heuliez Technypôle industrial site in Cerizay (MIL Assembly FR.). Noun Electric, trading as NoSmoke, has moved its assembly operations to a new workshop about 2 km SW from the Cartol site at Technypôle.
Another tidbit of info: "In 2019, Moke International acquired the assets of Burby’s and now offers gas and electric Mokes with EU homologation." (Source)
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
China Car Forums
88K posts
149.4K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Chinese Car owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!