The Mahindra Thar from India – a Jeep Wrangler look-a-like – could be back in line for Australia after a major redesign.
The on-again, off-again plans to bring the Mahindra Thar – a copycat design of the Jeep Wrangler – to Australia could be back on again after Drive spotted several test vehicles at Mahindra’s proving ground just outside of Chennai, in India.
The heavily-camouflaged test vehicles – including long-wheelbase five-door variants – revealed little in the way of the redesign undertaken by Mahindra in the wake of its legal battle with US giant Jeep.
Mahindra has been forced to remodel the Thar after a ruling in Australia’s Federal Court claimed it looked too similar to the Jeep Wrangler, which forced the Indian car company to shelve plans to import the Mahindra Thar to Australia.
However, Mahindra can re-apply to bring the Thar to Australia if the design has changed significantly – and if Jeep Australia and/or Jeep head office in the US grant approval beforehand.
If some of the test mules spotted by Drive in India are any indication, Mahindra is developing a redesigned and remodelled Thar, bringing the prospect of the off-roader closer to Australia.
Mahindra has already confirmed the five-door Thar for its domestic Indian market where it will go on sale this August.
When asked if a redesigned Thar could make its way to Australia, Mahindra’s President, Automotive Technology and Product Development, R ‘Velu’ Velusamy said: “We are closely evaluating this space. We will disclose it when we [are] ready from the planning.”
Any plans to bring a redesigned Thar to Australia will first need the approval of Jeep which, thanks to its 2021 legal win, has the right of veto if the US giant deems the redesigned Thar still too closely resembles the appearance of its iconic Jeep Wrangler.
The history of the Thar dates back to 1947 when Mahindra was granted the right to build Jeeps for the Indian market under licence. However, the licence was granted for the original Jeep only, not successive generations, and for the Indian market only.
Another Mahindra executive, Joydeep Moitra, the regional head of Mahindra Automotive, told Australian media at the local launch of the Scorpio last month:
“The Thar in its current form will not be coming into any international markets … we are working on a differently stylised car with a different value proposition, which is suitable for international markets.”
The post Mahindra Thar back in line for Australia, restyle planned appeared first on Drive.
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