US Court allows Mahindra to sell Roxor off-roader as Jeep loses case. Details
Mahindra will now be able to sell its Roxor off-roader in the US after a court ruled in favour of the Indian conglomerate with respect to a design infringement case filed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Group (Stellantis). The automaker had filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the sale of the Roxor owing to design similarities with its Jeep models.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV first filed a case in 2019 when FCA claimed that the Mahindra Roxor’s design copied trademark-protected components from Jeep. The automaker filed a lawsuit against Mahindra in Michigan and before the US International Trade Commission (ITC). As a result, Mahindra stopped selling the Roxor in the US until it was directed by the court to tweak the design. In its filing, FCA complained the Roxor is a “nearly identical copy" of the Jeep, with some design elements such as a “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood."
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In a regulatory filing, Mahindra said, “The Eastern District Court of Michigan has on 19th July, 2023 issued its opinion and order on FCA’s renewed motion to enjoin the Post-2020 Roxor and has based on its analysis, declined to apply the safe distance-rule to this case as sought by FCA. Accordingly FCA’s motion to enjoin the Post-2020 ROXOR was denied. With this ruling, Mahindra Automotive North America, a subsidiary of the Company, continues to have no restraints on its ability to produce, sell and distribute the Post-2020 ROXOR in the United States."
The Roxor’s design was revised in early 2020 and then later again that same year to look decidedly different from the Jeep SUVs. The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the matter to the Detroit court in September 2022, which concluded that the post-2020 Roxor’s design was in “safe distance" from the Jeep design. The court then denied Fiat’s request to apply the “safe distance rule" on the Roxor.
The Mahindra Roxor is an off-roader that can be used on private land only. The off-roader cannot be driven on legal roads in some states, while select states in the US do permit it to be used on public roads as well. The Roxor is built at Mahindra North America’s facility in Michigan, US.
