Nandini Sen Gupta | TNN | May 12, 2021, 11:16 IST
CHENNAI: Fiat Chrysler (owner of Jeep) and Mahindra & Mahindra are locked in a dispute over the design of the latter’s Thar SUV in Australia.
Mahindra’s teaser ad for its Thar in that market appears to be the trigger with Fiat Chrysler demanding that Mahindra should not launch the Thar in Australia and should give a 90-day notice if it intends to do so.
The two parties have since moved the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute is over Thar’s design which Fiat claims infringes the Jeep Wrangler's design.
An M&M spokesperson said, “We have filed our reply in the proceeding commenced by FCA against us. There are no plans to launch the current model of the Thar in Australia. We would provide adequate notice to FCA, as is requested, if we were to launch any future model of the Thar in Australia. The Court has listed the case to be heard on May 20, 2021. We have no immediate plans for the all-new Thar to be launched in other markets outside India given the strong demand that we are seeing in India.”