American automaker Jeep, though did not have pleasant debut in India owing to highly priced products, is now slowing moving towards introducing more cost friendly models in the country. At the Los Angeles Motor Show Mike Manley, Head of the Jeep brand, stated that India is an important market for the company and a global manufacturing hub for right-hand drive markets.
The automaker plans on introducing a compact SUV which will be priced under Rs 10 lakh and will be closer to the Ford EcoSport pricing in India. Additionally, the compact vehicle from the American automaker will also compete against Renault’s popular seller Duster. The plans are in initial stages for now and hence technical details are unavailable at this moment. If launched, the vehicle will be the smallest SUV in the company’s product portfolio. Likely to be under four-metres, the vehicle will benefit from lower excise tax, thereby helping Jeep to price it aggressively.
In order to generate volumes for the Jeep brand in the country, Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) and Tata Motors will be strengthening their partnership to enhance technology, engine and transmission sharing between the two. By mid-2017, the automaker plans on introducing India-made Jeep Compass. The Ranjangaon facility in Pune which may begin production sometime by second half of 2017, will be the company’s fourth manufacturing plant with the other three based in - China, Brazil and Mexico.
