FCA Moves To Block Mahindra From Selling Its Jeep-Clone Roxor In The U.S.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has filed a U.S. trade complaint seeking to block Indian manufacturer Mahindra from selling the Roxor, an off-road vehicle that looks a lot like the original Jeep.

FCA claims that the Mahindra Roxor infringes key characteristics of Jeep’s signature design, Bloomberg reports, including the “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood.”

“They are a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design,” the company said in its complaint, which included photos comparing the Roxor to the Jeep. “In fact, the accused product was ‘modeled after the original Willys Jeep.’”

Mahindra has been operating in the US since 2017, when it opened a facility in Southeast Michigan.

FCA also said that Roxor imports threaten them with substantial injury as they are underselling Jeeps. Mahindra manufactures its products in India and then imports them as knocked-down kits in the U.S., where they’re assembled in Detroit.

The formal complaint also talks about Mahindra’s “substantial foreign manufacturing capacity combined with its demonstrated intention to penetrate the United States market and harm FCA’s goodwill and business.”

Also Read: Mahindra’s Jeep-Like Roxor Spotted On The Way To Dealers

The Roxor comes with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder diesel engine producing a (very) modest 62 hp (46 kW / 62 PS) and 144 lb-ft (195 Nm) of torque, paired to a five-speed manual. It can only reach a top speed of just 45mph (72km/h), but it does average between 32 and 34 mpg. Carscoops’ reader Brett Borgard recently come upon a truck-load of Roxors being transferred in the States.