Mahindra changes electric SUV brand name to BE 6; to contest brand rights of BE 6e in court

“Mahindra’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,” Mahindra said in a statement .
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M) has announced to change the brand name of its electric origin SUV to BE 6 from BE 6e to avoid delays in product introduction owing to legal challenges by InterGlobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) which could drag on for years. But the company has decided to contest the brand right of BE 6e in court.

After Mahindra revealed its electric origin SUVs the BE 6e and XEV 9e on November 26, 2024, InterGlobe Aviation which has the call sign of 6E filed a law suit to prevent Mahindra from using the name 6e. 

Mahindra unveils two e-SUVs, will hit market in January

“Mahindra’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,” Mahindra said in a statement .

“The distinct styling further emphasises its uniqueness. Our registration application is for an entirely different industry sector and product and hence do not see any conflict,” it said.

“In fact, we would like to point out that 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.

Stating that its priority and focus is on ensuring an excellent experience for its customers as it takes its product to the market, it said “We would not like to get distracted from our vision of popularising electric transport in India.”

“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,” Mahindra said. “We are hence taking the decision to brand our product the “BE 6”,” it said.

“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 emphasised. 

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