Mahindra Thar vs Jeep Wrangler: All about the legal tussle between the two auto majors

Mahindra Thar vs Jeep Wrangler

Ever since its launch back in 2020, the new-gen Mahindra Thar has been in the news for some reason or the other, especially its high demand in the country. For the past few weeks now, the company has been in a legal embroilment over its launch in Australia.

For one, there is no denying the fact that the new-gen Mahindra Thar bears more than a resemblance to the Jeep Wrangler. There are a number of reasons to this, but the most important one is the Willy’s Jeep that Mahindra manufactured in India under licence back in the 1940s.

The Jeep however, is now owned by Fiat Chrylser Motors (FCA) or as it is now called, Stellantis and Jeep’s Wrangler too, is an evolution of that SUV. And that’s where the problem lies. The Willy’s Jeep has been the Wrangler for so long that it has become somewhat of a cult icon globally. The Thar’s legendary status on the other hand is mostly limited to India.

So it makes sense that Stellantis would want to protect the Wrangler’s ‘trade dress’, at least in other countries. Visually, the Thar and the Wrangler are strikingly similar. Everything from the round headlamps and the boxy tail lamps to even the overall silhouette can be confused. It’s like a game of ‘Who’s that Pokemon?’

There are some differences, like the seven-slot grille, but that has been available for purchase in the aftermarket for the Wrangler as well.

Now, it did seem like Mahindra was looking at taking the Thar to Australia. In fact the manufacturer’s website also had a page where you could ‘register your interest’.

With Stellantis’ intervention, however, Mahindra has since taken that page down. According to the company, engaging in a litigation at this stage would be ‘pointless’. “We're seeing very strong demand for the all-new Thar 2020 in India, and therefore have no immediate plans for launch of the current variant of the Thar in markets outside India,” the company said in a statement.

Mahindra further said that the company would give Stellantis a notice of at least 90 days if the company decides to launch the Thar down under. “This has no bearing on our future plans in Australia as we continue to pursue expansion of our business across a number of vehicle categories,” Mahindra said

“FCA is pleased that Mahindra has conceded and undertaken that they will not import, market or sell the current Thar vehicle in Australia and will provide prior notice to FCA before bringing any future model or variant of the Thar into Australia,” Stellantis said in a statement to the media.

“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,” FCA’s statement reads.

For the moment, it doesn’t look like Mahindra will be able to export the Thar to Australia. But this also sets the precedent for any other countries with strong trademark and intellectual property policies, because FCA will set up their roadblocks to protect the Wrangler. If the Thar has to go abroad, it will have to be as something other than a Wrangler lookalike.