Shillong, July 23: After facing multiple lawsuits by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – now known as Stellantis – over its Jeep-like design since its US launch in 2018, Mahindra has received clearance to manufacture and sell the Roxor with a design update introduced after 2020.
The Eastern District Court of Michigan issued an order on FCA’s motion to enjoin the post-2020 Roxor, and it declined to apply the “safe distance rule” to the case as requested by FCA.
IANS reported that with this ruling, Mahindra’s subsidiary, Mahindra Automotive North America, can continue producing, selling, and distributing the post-2020 Roxor without any restraints in the US. The legal dispute began in 2019 when FCA claimed that the Mahindra Roxor’s design copied trademark-protected components of its Jeep, leading to lawsuits in Michigan and the US International Trade Commission (ITC).
Mahindra made design tweaks to the Roxor in early 2020 and again in late 2020 as directed by court rulings to differentiate it from the Jeep design. However, it faced obstacles in the US market since September 2022 when the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to the Detroit court to assess whether the new Roxors maintained a “safe distance” from the Jeep design.
The Mahindra Roxor features a 2.5-liter diesel engine with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or an automatic transmission. Assembled in Detroit, the off-roader is currently available exclusively in the US market.
