Mahindra renames EV brand amid trademark clash

December 07, 2024 18:06

Mahindra & Mahindra on Saturday said it has decided to rename its new electric vehicle brand as 'BE 6' but noted that it will continue to contest strongly in court with InterGlobe Aviation for the trademark 'BE 6e'.

InterGlobe Aviation, which owns IndiGo airlines, has taken the automaker to court over the usage of 6E in its new EV brand.

'Our priority and focus is on ensuring an excellent experience for our customers as we take our product to the market. We would not like to get distracted from our vision of popularising electric transport in India,' M&M said in a press release.

It further said, 'We also find it unseemly that two large, Indian multinationals should engage in a distracting and unnecessary conflict when in fact we should be championing each other's growth and expansion.'

Hence, the company is taking the decision to brand its product as 'BE 6', it added.

'We, however, do believe the claim by IndiGo is baseless and if not challenged, will set an unhealthy precedent of monopolising alpha-numeric 2-character marks, despite our mark being distinctive and different. This will be enormously constraining for all companies across industries and sectors,' it said.

'We will thus continue to strongly contest this in court and reserve our right to the brand name BE 6e,' it added.

M&M said in the past, Tata Motors had objected to InterGlobe using the IndiGo mark, given their Tata Indigo car brand.

'InterGlobe continues to use the mark IndiGo in a different industry and business. We, therefore, find their objection to BE 6e to be inconsistent with their own previous conduct,' it added.

Mahindra revealed its electric origin SUVs the BE 6e and XEV 9e on November 26, 2024.

Mahindra said it has applied for trademark registration under class 12 (vehicles) for 'BE 6e' as a part of its electric origin SUV portfolio.

The mark 'BE' is already registered with Mahindra in Class 12, and it stands for its 'born electric' platform underpinning the BE 6e, the automaker said.

Elaborating further, it said the company's mark is 'BE 6e' not the standalone '6E'.

'We believe it differs fundamentally from IndiGo's '6E', which represents an airline, eliminating any risk of confusion. The distinct styling further emphasises its uniqueness,' it stated.

The company's registration application is for an entirely different industry sector and product and hence does not see any conflict, it added. -- with inputs from PTI

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