FCA took legal action against the Mahindra for earlier versions of the Roxor copying Jeep’s design language.
The Eastern District Court of Michigan ruled this week that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — the U.S. arm of larger parent company Stellantis — cannot stop Mahindra & Mahindra for selling certain versions of its small Roxor off-road SUV. This decision brings to an end a years-long battle wherein Mahindra was required to change its design to keep a “safe distance”, so it does not infringe upon the look of Jeep’s iconic CJ and Wrangler models.
Back in 2019, the International Trade Commission found that Mahindra was guilty of trademark infringement after FCA lodged its original complaint a year earlier, issuing a cease-and-desist order to block sales of the Jeep-lookalike Roxor models. The Indian company redesigned the Roxor in 2020 in an effort to address the legal dispute. the ITC initially ruled in Jeep’s favor for pre-facelift models, blocking older Roxors from sale. However, the regulator updated its decision to say Mahindra didn’t infringe on FCA’s intellectual property with the Roxor’s design.
FCA appealed the ITC’s later decision in September 2022. Now, as Automotive News reports, the company lost that appeal. In essence, the court decided the latest model is distinctive enough avert any further infringement, likely paving the way for Mahindra to sell the latest Roxor in the American market.
At time of writing, FCA made no official comment on the ruling. We’ll have to wait and see if the company extends its legal action, though Roxor fans may be able to finally rejoice: You could see these off-roaders in the U.S. again very soon.
It’s been a few years since we’ve checked out the Roxor, but here’s a refresher on what the pre-facelift model looks like, and what that refreshed version effectively still brings to the table:
