FCA loses design infringement case against Mahindra as US court clears the brand to build and sell the Roxor off-roader.
Since its launch in the United States back in 2018, Mahindra’s Roxor off-roader has been facing multiple lawsuits by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – Stellantis, over its Jeep-like design. In a recent development, Mahindra has said that it has got the clearance to manufacture and sell the Roxor with the design update that debuted post 2020.
- Post-2020 Roxor cleared for manufacture and sale
- Fiat’s request to apply the “safe distance rule” on Roxor denied
- Roxor has already got two design tweaks since 2018 launch
Mahindra Roxor back on sale in North America
In a regulatory filing, Mahindra has said that on July 19, 2023, the Eastern District Court of Michigan issued its order on FCA’s renewed motion to enjoin the post-2020 Roxor and, based on its analysis, has declined to apply the “safe distance rule” to this case as sought by FCA. 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 US, the carmaker said in the filing.
The matter began in 2019 when FCA claimed that the Mahindra Roxor’s design copied trademark-protected components of its Jeep and filed a lawsuit against it in Michigan and before the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Since then, Mahindra has tweaked the design of the Roxor, first in early 2020 and then again in late 2020, to make it look different, as directed by the court rulings.
In September 2022, the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the matter to the Detroit court so that it could determine whether the new Roxors maintained a “safe distance” from the Jeep design. Mahindra had been unable to manufacture and sell the Roxor in the US since.
Mahindra sells the Roxor with a 2.5-litre diesel engine paired to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or an automatic transmission. The off-roader is assembled in Detroit and is currently on sale only in the US.
Since its launch, the Roxor has gathered a fan following in the off-roader/side-by-side enthusiast community in the US. While the vehicle cannot be driven legally on roads and is for off-road use only, some states permit their use on roads as well.
Also See:
