- Naming a car can be tricky. From copyright infringements to varying cultural and linguistic interpretations, it can be a marketing genius or disaster.
Mahindra BE 6e electric car will now be called Mahindra BE 6. The announcement was made by the Indian carmaker last week after InterGlobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) contested the brand rights to the ‘6e’ name tag. Mahindra, however, has said that it will contest the matter in court and has once again underlined that its latest electric vehicle was first named ‘6e’ and not ‘6E’ which is IATA designator for IndiGo Airlines.
Also Read : IndiGo files lawsuit against Mahindra
The IATA codes are used for commercial airline purposes and are issued at the request of an airline. Days after the launch of Mahindra BE 6e in the last week of November, however, IndiGo filed a lawsuit against Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd, alleging trademark infringement. Mahindra issued a statement informing that it is in talks with IndiGo. “Mahindra has applied for trade mark registration under class 12 (vehicles) for “BE 6e” a part of its electric origin SUV portfolio. We hence don’t see a conflict as Mahindra’s mark is “BE 6e,” not the standalone “6E ,” a statement from the company read.
For now though, the carmaker has opted to drop the ‘e’ from the name. And this brings back memories of several occasions when the name of a car model has raised eyebrows or worse still, a storm.
Did you know that the Tata Tiago was originally supposed to be called Tata Zica? The name ‘Zica’ was thought appropriate to highlight the zippy character of the car. But around the time of the car’s first launch – early 2016, the Zia virus was created havoc across the world and the World Health Organization had decalred an emergency. Obviously, Tata Motors did not want its car to remind people of a deadly virus even if the spelling was different. As such, the name ‘Zica’ was dropped and the Tiago continues till date.
Who does not know the iconic Mitsubishi Pajero? The rugged SUV was sold over several decades in as many as 170 countries across the globe. It was also manufactured at several locations like Japan, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and China. While the name ‘Pajero’ was retained in most markets, it was changed to Shogun in Spain. Why? Well Pajero in Spanish means someone who is an idiot and even has sexual references as someone who masturbates excessively. Little wonder then that Mitsubishi could not have kept the name here.
chevrolet nova
Chevrolet ought to have known that language and cultural interpretations also have an impact on how a car is perceived. But the Chevrolet Nova had to take a beating in Mexico because in the Spanish language, ‘Nova’ means ‘No Go’. It was a marketing blunder for the company because it failed to change the name of the car when it was launched here in the early 1970s. Needless to say, the model failed to find many takers and it is suspected that part of the reason was its name itself.
While not sold in India any longer, the Jazz from Honda was a fairly popular model which offered tons of space and a peppy drive experience. The model has fared reasonably well in many global markets too but is not known by this name everywhere. In fact, in most countries that have had Honda Jazz, it is known instead as Honda Fit. A small but significant controversy was averted by the Japanese carmaker when it decided to rename the car to Jazz, partly because of copyright infringement issues and also because Fit may remind Norwegian speaking people of ‘Fitta’ which is a coarse slang word for female genitalia. And you won’t want your car to remind people of genitalia, male or female, right? Well, hello Skoda Laura.
Skoda Laura rises in India
Skoda drove out its premium sedan for the elite Indian customer in 2005 and strangely enough, called it Laura. The name is once again a coarse slang word for male genitalia in the Hindi language and has evoked plenty of hilarious responses, jobs and jokes. For Skoda’s sake though, the model fared reasonably well despite the Czechs persisting with the name. But was there a lesson in it? Sure.
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First Published Date: 09 Dec 2024, 11:54 AM IST
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