The Mahindra Roxor is a

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

off-road only utility vehicle assembled by Mahindra Automotive North America (MANA) since 2018. MANA is the US arm of Indian automotive compan
Mahindra and Mahindra Limited
It is based on the Mahindra Thar M2DICR variant, produced and sold in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n market since 2010. Mahindra has made off-road vehicles in jeep(GP) pattern since a 1947 contract with

Willys Willys (pronounced , "Willis" ) was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs ...

to build such vehicles for the Indian market. The Roxor was announced in November 2017 and began sales on March 2, 2018. In the United States, it is an off-highway side-by-side (SxS). The Roxor is assembled at Mahindra's factory opened in the year March 2018 located in Auburn Hills, outside

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. They are sold through power sports dealers across US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

2022 Facelift

In June 2020, the United States International Trade Commission ruled that the Roxor infringed upon Jeep's trade dress. This decision was accompanied by a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order, effectively barring the import and sale of the Roxor in the US. Mahindra is redesigning the Roxor to further visually distinguish it from Jeep's vehicles. In December 2020, The

International Trade Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...

issued its final ruling and determined that Mahindra's redesigned 2021 ROXOR does not infringe on the “Jeep Trade Dress” claimed by

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. The Italian holding company Exor was the largest ...

. In November 2021, Mahindra launched the new ROXOR design to the public in the United States.

Design

The Roxor is based on the design of the

Jeep CJ The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 to 1986. The 1945 Willys Jeep was the world' ...

of the 1960's, and

Willys CJ The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 to 1986. The 1945 Willys Jeep was the world' ...

of the 1940's. Mahindra was granted a license in 1947 to use the Jeep and CJ trademarks, and Willys originally shipped complete vehicle kits directly to Mahindra. Over time, the vehicles were localized in India. The body design and a significant portion of its mechanical architecture remain largely untouched. In the US off-road UTV market, it has a roll-over protection system (ROPS), which creates the upper body structure and is attached directly to the fully boxed frame. It has a single gauge

speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...

on all variants, with

digital fuel Digital Fuel is a provider of IT financial management SaaS software for planning, billing. The company's headquarters is in Los Angeles, California. History Digital Fuel was co-founded in 2000 by Benny Lehmann, Israel Dancziger, Gilad Raz and Yak ...

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

, and

tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated anal ...

gauges. The Roxor is available in two and four-passenger versions and with either a manual or

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

. It has 16-in steel or

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

wheels, with options for Goodyear 235/70R16 Wrangler Trailrunner AT, BFGoodrich 235/70R16 All-Terrain T/A KO2, or EFX 30×9.5-16 tires.

Powertrain

The Roxor is powered by the Mahindra M2DICR direct-injected

turbodiesel The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...

engine that produces @ 3,200 and Nm

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

at 1,400 rpm and has a

compression ratio The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values. A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...

of 18.6:1. The same engine has also been used in many of Mahindra's other UTV type vehicles. To ensure safe off-highway use, the top speed is electronically limited to for 2019 and new models, and in the 2018 model. Mahindra says the Roxor's fuel tank allows a range of and consumes .

Drivetrain

The NGT520 transmission was designed to military specifications. It has a ct-iron housing with a direct-mounted shift system. All of the forward gears are engaged with single-cone brass synchronizers. The simple gear lubrication system is efficient enough under driving conditions to allow limited flat towing of the vehicle over the road. The gears are helical involute. The dual-offset cast-iron transfer case is also based on early military-specified driveline requirements. The 2.46:1 low range allows low crawl speeds over uneven terrain and steep grades. The leaf-sprung straight axles are of a legacy design close to

Dana 44 The Dana 44 is an automotive axle manufactured by Dana Holding Corporation and is used among automobile manufacturers and in the automotive aftermarket The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned wit ...

with a 3.73:1 final drive ratio. Since mid-2018, a 6L50 automatic transmission sourced from Punch Powerglide in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, has been offered as an option on the Mahindra Roxor. The transfer case has what appears to be a PTO cover. Still, a PTO is not able to be installed as there is a support-bearing upgrade in the way. The front and rear differentials are open, allowing easier turning on hard surfaces, but power is sent to the wheel with less traction on loose or off-road surfaces. Several aftermarket suppliers offer traction locking differentials for both front and rear differentials, sending equal power to both wheels for greater traction off-road. Additionally, horsepower output can be increased by installing a less restrictive intake and exhaust system and altering the

engine control unit An engine control unit (ECU), also commonly called an engine control module (ECM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by re ...

(ECU) tune that controls the fuel/air mixtures to compensate for the increased flow. Turbocharger intercoolers are also available aftermarket, cooling the intake fuel/air mix for greater air density and increased power.

Trademark dispute

, owner of the Jeep brand, filed a complaint in August 2018 with the

U.S. International Trade Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislature, legislative and executive (government), executive branches on matters of trade. It is an indepe ...

to halt sales in the US, saying the design infringed on FCA's copyrights. Mahindra and its Mahindra Automotive North America division filed a public interest statement with the trade commission on August 22, 2018, asserting that the recent complaint filed by FCA U.S. is without merit, and has begun proceedings in a

court to enforce a design agreement that it claims to have executed with

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

in 2009. In late 2019, Judge Cameron Elliot ruled in favor of

FCA FCA may refer to: Arts * Federation of Canadian Artists * Foundation for Contemporary Art, in Ghana * Foundation for Contemporary Arts, in the United States Business and economics * False Claims Act, a United States federal law * Federal Cus ...

, stating that the

should issue a limited exclusion order (to prevent Mahindra from importing Roxor vehicles or parts) and a cease-and-desist order (to block Mahindra from selling vehicles already in the US). On June 11, 2020, the U. S. International Trade Commission affirmed the decision. The ITC did not find that the Roxor's grill infringes upon Jeep's trademarked 7-slot grill. Rather, the vehicle overall infringes upon Jeep's trade dress used formerly in their CJ series vehicles, and currently on their Wrangler series vehicles. In particular, the Roxor has "a boxy body shape with flat vertical sides, rear body panels that are roughly the same height as the hood, the door cut-outs that go above the bottom of the side, exterior hood latches, a mostly flat and rounded-edge hood tapering toward the front... and the trapezoidal flared fenders that extend past the grille." While Mahindra has often highlighted the differences between the Roxor and the Jeep, the ITC ruling has caused them to embark on a redesign of the vehicle. Acknowledging the Roxor's similarities to Jeep vehicles, Rick Haas, Mahindra Automotive North America

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and President, stated that the Roxor is "actually a CJ," and that "everyone understands that our vehicle is a CJ." In December 2020, the International Trade Commission issued its final ruling and determined that Mahindra's redesigned 2021 ROXOR does not infringe on the “

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

Trade Dress” claimed by

References

External links

Official North American website

Official Canadian website
vehicles blaze {{Mahindra and Mahindra vehicles Jeep platforms Roxor Off-road vehicles