If there is a word that perfectly defines the relationship between car manufacturers that is competitiveness. It is also true that the collaboration between them can reach unsuspected limits, but ask Ford and Volkswagen. The fact is that the interference of one in the market of another is never received with joy. One of the most recent cases, and notorious, has been the one carried out by the Mahindra Roxor U.S..
If you remember you will remember that the FCA Group is against the commercialization of this model. The reason for this is very simple: the design of the Roxor is very similar to the first generation Jeep Wrangler. So much so, that one and the other model are practically the same, since the American firm gave the license for its manufacture to the Hindu. However, the agreement did not include its export to the United States and hence the "war".
The victory of the FCA Group over the Mahindra Roxor was evident
This battle reached the courts and there was a first winner, the FCA Group. However, the decision of another official body that would ratify, or annul, the decision was still pending. Specifically, it has been International Trade Commission which has terminated the procedure. In his resolution he has been very clear: Mahindrá will have to immediately cease the sale of the Roxor throughout the United States.
But there is more, because this prohibition is not only limited to the commercialization of the model. This body has agreed with the FCA Group in another of its requests: prevent the importation of parts and their manufacture in the country. This resolution puts an end to the expansion plans of the brand in the United States. Moreover, to obtain a positive resolution, he applied a subtle restyling, with limited effect, to distance the Roxor from the mythical Willys.
We will have to see how Mahindra reacts, because the Roxor is no real competitor for the Jeep Wrangler. The FCA all-terrain is positioned in a segment and offers a level of power and quality infinitely superior to that of the Indian model. However, the industrial property law in the United States is restrictive: their resemblance is evident and remarkable. However, it is not strange that in a matter of months we meet a renewed Roxor.
Source - Reuters
More information about this model
- Plazas 5
- Power 272 - 380 hp
- Consumer goods 3,5 - 11l/100km
- Assessment 4,5