M&M will compete vigorously for the ‘BE 6e’ trademark; renames the new model EV BE 6
Mahindra & Mahindra on Saturday said it has decided to rename its new electric vehicle model as ‘BE 6’ but noted that it will continue to compete fiercely in court with InterGlobe Aviation’s trademark ‘BE 6e’.
InterGlobe Aviation, which owns IndiGo airlines, has taken the car company to court over the use of the 6E in its new EV product.
“What is important to us is our focus on ensuring the best experience for our customers as we take our product to market. We do not want to be distracted from our vision of promoting e-transportation in India,” M&M said in a statement.
It continued, “We also find it inappropriate that two great countries, Indians from many countries should be involved in a disturbing and unnecessary conflict when in fact we should be striving for growth and expansion of each other.” Therefore, the company decides to brand its product as “BE 6”, it added.
“However, we believe that IndiGo’s claim is baseless and if it is not challenged, it will set a bad example of using only one alpha-numeric character mark, despite our brand being unique and distinctive. This will be a huge pressure on all companies everywhere. industries and sectors,” he said.
“So we will continue to fight this in court and reserve our right to the brand name BE 6e,” he added.
M&M said that earlier, Tata Motors had objected to InterGlobe using the IndiGo brand, given its Tata Indigo car brand.
“InterGlobe continues to use the IndiGo brand in a different industry and business. Therefore, we find their objection to BE 6e inconsistent with their previous conduct,” it added.
Mahindra revealed its BE 6e and XEV 9e electric SUVs on November 26, 2024.
Mahindra said it has applied for trademark registration under section 12 (vehicles) for “BE 6e” as part of its electric SUV portfolio.
The “BE” brand has already been registered with Mahindra in class 12, and represents the “born electric” platform that underpins the BE 6e, the automaker said.
Elaborating, it said the company’s logo is “BE 6e” and not the stand-alone “6E”.
“We believe it is very different from IndiGo’s “6E”, which stands for the airline, removing any risk of confusion. The distinctive style further emphasizes its uniqueness,” it said.
The company’s application for registration is in a completely different industry and product sector and therefore we do not see any conflict, it added.
