Mahindra Hits Back At FCA's 'Jeep Lookalike' Claim
The chunky yet adorable little off-roader you see above is the Mahindra Roxor. Think it looks a little too much like a Willys Jeep? So does Fiat Chrysler Automobiles - the automotive giant recently tried to block the sale of the ATV in the United States.
Where it gets a little complicated is the design of the grille: Mahindra is claiming that back in 2009, it struck a deal with FCA to use an approved grille design. Regardless, FCA wasn’t happy with the design of the Roxor, lodging a complaint with the US International Trade Commission.
The allegation was that Mahindra’s non-road-legal creation infringed the Jeep brand’s design trademark of a “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood.” The complaint went on to state that: “In fact, the accused product was ‘modeled after the original Willys Jeep.’”
Mahindra - which has a long history of producing licensed versions of Jeep vehicles - has now hit back at FCA’s claims, filing a ‘public interest statement’ with the ITC. “Fiat is using the case to harm our Roxor business by creating negative publicity, damaging our reputation and our stature in the marketplace,” the company said.
It added: “The Roxor is a vehicle that was always intended only as an off-road vehicle, does not compete with Fiat vehicles, is manufactured and assembled in the first OEM plant to be built in Michigan, USA, in the last 25 years, was the result of more than three years of research and development, and categorically rejected the notion that the Roxor was an imported low quality “knock-off” kit car.”
The Roxor ATV - powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine making 62bhp and 144lb ft of torque - remains on sale in the USA for $14,999.
Sources: The Truth About Cars, Bloomberg
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
not gonna lie that thing is a really bad knockoff
It’s an ATV… meant for off-road only use. It’s basically a toy. Top speed is only 45mph. I wouldn’t call it a bad knock off, it’s an ATV/UTV with an obvious nod to old Jeeps.
It is not a knockoff.
Talk about copying another classmate’s homework.
It seems to have a really bad specific power and torque output for a 2.5 litre
power/litre doesn’t mean anything in this ccar
It will probably be a non turbo diesel.
It has a torso output than a 90’s Jetta tdi
15k 4 a knock of jeep with only 62bhp nope..
The original Willys Jeep’s Go devil engine only made around 60hp so there isn’t that much of a difference.
It added: “The Roxor is a vehicle that was always intended only as an off-road vehicle, does not compete with Fiat vehicles, is manufactured and assembled in the first OEM plant to be built in Michigan, USA, in the last 25 years, was the result of more than three years of research and development, and categorically rejected the notion that the Roxor was an imported low quality “knock-off” kit car.”
How tf was this paragraph organised, there are way too many commas and it just loses sense halfway through
Looks honestly nice, would be cool if that thing would be proposed in Canada as well, although it’s very expensive for what it seems to offer (knowing that UTVs with more power can be sold for less), especially knowing it’s not road-legal.
hummerinator (Suzuki samurai, lada niva & iveco daily lover) JIMNY MK4 MADLY OBSESSED
What did fiat expect? Mahindrs go bsck without fight?
So they’ve been fine with it since the 1970s and now they complain??
Bloody FCA
They “stole” the grile from Ford! Now that a business deal could hurt them they defend it strongly! KARma in a nutshell!