IANS | 24 Jul, 2023
Since its launch in the US 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, Autocar India
reported.
In a regulatory filing, Mahindra has said that on July
19, 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, Autocar India reported.
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, Autocar India reported.
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, Autocar
India reported.
