Fiat Chrysler hopes to stop Jeep knock-off sales in U.S.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles filed a U.S. trade complaint seeking to prevent Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. from importing an off-road vehicle that looks like FCA’s iconic Jeep.

The Fiat Chrysler Group filed the complaint on Aug. 1 at the U.S. International Trade Commission, claiming that the Mahindra Roxor infringes key characteristics of Jeep’s signature trade dress, namely 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,” Fiat Chrysler said in its complaint, which included photos comparing the Roxor to the Jeep. “In fact, the accused product was ‘modelled after the original Willys Jeep.’ ”

In 2017, Mumbai-based Mahindra, which claims to be India’s largest sport utility vehicle manufacturer, opened headquarters in Michigan for its newly developed North American branch.

Fiat Chrysler has also said Roxor imports threaten it with substantial injury as they are underselling Jeeps. Mahindra capitalizes on the cost advantages of manufacturing their products in India and then importing knocked-down kits to the U.S., where they’re assembled in the Detroit area.

Fiat Chrysler has become increasingly reliant on its Jeep product line. The company reported its highest ever July sales for Jeep brand vehicles, up 16 per cent, to power the company’s overall 5.9 per cent jump from a year ago.

Mahindra announced plans in November to invest $600 million in its Roxor manufacturing facility. The Michigan unit tripled its workforce and by 2020, the group plans to employ as many as 670 workers there. Fiat Chrysler’s complaint pointed to Mahindra’s “substantial foreign manufacturing capacity combined with its demonstrated intention to penetrate the United States market and harm FCA’s goodwill and business.”