mahindraroxor
Carsales Staff5 Aug 2018
NEWS

FCA wants Indian Jeep ‘knock-off’ banned

Mahindra Roxor 4x4 off-roader blatantly rips off iconic Jeep design, says Fiat Chrysler

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this week sought to have the Mahindra Roxor banned from sale in the US, claiming the two-seat 4x4 all-terrain vehicle apes the design of the original Willys Jeep.

According to Bloomberg, in a complaint lodged with the US International Trade Commission – not the US Patent Office -- in Washington on August 1, FCA said the Mahindra Roxor infringed Jeep’s signature design and provided photos to prove it.

FCA cited the Roxor’s “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood” as evidence it is “a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design; in fact, the accused product was ‘modelled after the original Willys Jeep'."

Mahindra, which began by assembling the Willys in India under license in the 1940s, makes no bones about that and says its long-standing relationship with Jeep began “with the original agreement with Willys and continues to this day”.

The Indian auto giant cited a 2009 deal with Jeep’s previous custodian Chrysler Group LLC – the SUV brand’s parent company before Daimler Chrysler and now Fiat Chrysler -- as its most recent arrangement to build Willys copies.

“Our actions, products and product distribution (including Roxor) both honor the legacy of the relationship and the terms of our agreements with FCA,” Mahindra Automotive North American spokesman Rich Ansell told Bloomberg.

“Mahindra has been co-existing with FCA and the Jeep brand for over 25 years in India and in many other countries.”

But it seems all bets are now off for Fiat Chrysler, which drew the US trade commission’s attention to Mahindra’s “substantial foreign manufacturing capacity combined with its demonstrated intention to penetrate the United States market and harm FCA’s goodwill and business”.

However, the Mahindra Roxor might wear retro Jeep styling but it's a ‘side-by-side’ off-roader that is not road-legal, limited to a 72km/h top speed and aimed at farmers and recreational users, priced from about $US15,000 – much less than the Willy’s spiritual successor, the Jeep Wrangler.

The 1377kg Mahindra Roxor measures just 3759mm long and 1574mm wide -- 480mm shorter and 303mm narrower than the smallest, two-door Wrangler and more like a Suzuki Jimny.

Interestingly, the Roxor -- which will come to Australia in its next generation -- features a five-bar grille rather than the seven bars that appear on other current Mahindra – and Jeep – models.

In the US, the Roxor is being be offered with no fewer than 900 paint colours and a host of other options like safari seats, rear seats, lift kits, hard-tops, winches and side enclosures.

Unlike side-by-side competitors such as the Polaris RZR ATV and Kawasaki Mule Pro, the Mahindra Roxor does not come with smaller twin-cylinder engines and belt-drive.

Instead it has a Euro 6 2.5-litrre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, five-speed manual transmission and two-speed transfer case, plus a stainless steel body on a boxed-steel ladder frame with leaf springs at both ends.

Mahindra sells trucks and tractors -- and light vehicles under its SsangYong brand -- in the US, but the Indian auto giant does not sell passenger cars there.

But the Roxor is the first vehicle to be produced – from imported knocked-down kits imported from India – at Mahindra Automotive North America’s new $600 million manufacturing facility in Detroit.

And Mahindra -- which also owns REV Electric Vehicles and Pininfarina, and hopes to supply USPS mail delivery vehicles -- has global plans for five new models including an all-new compact SUV, new XUV500 and Scorpio large SUVs and a redesigned PikUp, all due by 2020.

Mahindra & Mahindra managing director Pawan Goenka told motoring.com.au in March that the Roxor was designed specifically for the US, where it will be a “game-changer” in the side-by-side class.

“Mahindra’s 70-year automotive history has been forged by making authentic, rugged, purpose-driven vehicles; Roxor is the embodiment of this history and our brand,” he said.

“The Roxor is going to start a new journey for Mahindra in the US, establishing our reputation of offering tough, durable and rugged off-road vehicles, just like what we have accomplished with our tractors being sold here.”

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Written byCarsales Staff
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