Monday, May 24, 2021
By Kamal Swami
Who Will Win The Fight Mahindra Or Jeep?
The second generation of Thar SUV by the homegrown automaker Mahindra and Mahindra has gained huge popularity across the world. Mahindra had launched the Thar last year in October 2021 and since then its popularity is increasing with each passing day. However, the SUV has been on the target of US-based carmaker Jeep for making it similar to the Wrangler SUV. To stop Mahindra from copying the looks of Wrangler the Australian alliance of the US-based carmaker had also filed a case in the Federal Court of Australia. In reply to the plea made by the US car, Mahindra had said that it will not import the current version of Thar in the Australian car market.
Mahindra has agreed to follow the conditions determined by Steallantis, one of the partners in the joint venture of Jeep and its parent company FCA. According to these conditions before bringing the new variant of Thar in the future Mahindra will inform the company 90 days before its launch. Earlier the company proposed to reduce the minimum notice period of 90 days to 45 days. But later agreed on the terms finalized by Stellantis.
Replying to a query made by Tech2, Stellantis said, FCA is happy that Mahindra has agreed to not import or sell the existing version of Thar in Australia. Before bringing or selling the existing version of Thar in Australia it will bring this to the notice of the US carmaker. According to the sources of Stellantis, “ This outcome illustrates our commitment to protect the iconic trade dress and trademarks of the Jeep brand here and overseas and continue to engage the passion our customers and loyal Jeep community in Australia have for these iconic vehicles.”
The US carmaker approached the court immediately as soon as it came to know about Mahindra’s plans to launch the new Thar in Australia. The new Thar was caught undergoing the test drive recently in Australia. Mahindra Australia had also developed a new page on its official website as “Register Your Interest” for new Thar. But now it has removed that page from its website.
Commenting on the existing scenario the sources of Mahindra said, the proceedings have been elaborated in a wrong way and has created a fuss among the buyers. According to Mahindra, it has submitted a voluntary undertaking in court in reply to the plea filed by Jeep. In its reply to Tech 2 the sources of Mahindra said, “We’re seeing very strong demand for the all-new Thar 2020 in India; therefore, we have no immediate plans for the launch of the current variant of the Thar in markets outside India. As a result, it was pointless to engage in litigation at this stage. When we decide to launch any new variant of the Thar in Australia, we will provide 90 days’ notice to FCA and take all steps to protect our rights to market and sell the product. This has no bearing on our plans in Australia as we continue to pursue expansion of our business across a number of vehicle categories”
Will Thar Never Be Launched in Australia? Of course, Thar will be launched in the Australian car market too but under certain terms and conditions. As it can also be seen in the statement made by Mahindra where it says, “When we decide to launch any new variant of the Thar in Australia, we will provide 90 days’ notice to FCA and take all steps to protect our rights to market and sell the product”. This is a clear indication that the battle is not over yet.
News Source: FirstPost
