Although Mahindra hasn’t received the complaint yet, they have already reviewed the filing.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had recently filed a complaint against Mahindra with the U.S. International Trade Commission. FCA was claiming that the Mahindra Roxor has been “modelled after the original Willys Jeep.” Now, even though Mahindra hasn’t officially received the complaint, they have taken the proactive measure of reviewing the filing. It claims that “Mahindra is well within its rights to both manufacture and distribute the Roxor off-road vehicle.”
FCA in its Complaint No. 3330 was seeking to ban the sales of the Mahindra Roxor in the United States. But Mahindra has defended itself saying that “Our action, products, and product distribution (including Roxor) both honor the legacy of the relationship and the terms of our agreements with FCA. Mahindra has co-existed with FCA (and the Jeep brand) for over 25 years in India and in many other countries. The Roxor is a derivative of Mahindra vehicles distributed in those markets.”
It is apparent that Mahindra won’t take this complaint from FCA lying down. The company has just begun to get some success in the U.S. with its Roxor model and they will not want it to fade away. An investment of $600 million has also been planned for its Michigan manufacturing plant where the Roxor is produced as a knocked down unit. By 2020, the Indian manufacturer will also be employing 670 workers there.
The Mahindra Roxor is a 4×4 off-road vehicle that is powered by a 2.5-litre, diesel engine producing 62 HP at 3200 RPM and 195.2 Nm of peak torque between 1400-2200 RPM. It doesn’t come with too many advanced features as Mahindra wants to keep its costs down and also increase reliability.
It will be interesting to see how the U.S. International Trade Commission will pursue this complaint which also states that the “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood” of the Mahindra Roxor is an identical copy of the Jeep models. The complaint has been filed under the Matter of Certain Motorized Vehicles and Components Thereof.
FCA Complaint Against Roxor
– The company has claimed the complaint to be baseless
– It says that it is fully under the right to manufacture and distribute the Roxor in the U.S.
– It remains to be seen how the U.S. International Trade Commission pursues this case
Source – AutocarIndia.com