According to an insider source from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India, the Jeep Compass, which was globally unveiled in 2016, may be launched in India by June 2017. It will be the first Jeep to be manufactured in India at the FCA’s Ranjangaon plant near Pune and is expected to be priced around the Rs 18 to 20 lakh mark.
Part of FCA, Jeep is an iconic American carmaker that has excelled in developing rugged utility vehicles since the early 1940s. In 2016, Jeep entered India with three of its most recognised models - Grand Cherokee, Wrangler Unlimited and Grand Cherokee SRT. Once the Compass is launched in India, the Ranjangaon plant will become one of the four manufacturing hubs in the world where this SUV will be manufactured. Put together, these four hubs (in China, Brazil, Mexico and India) will produce the Compass for 100-plus countries globally.
The Compass will come with an array of 17 powertrains combinations to serve different markets around the world. Customers in India will have an option of a petrol or a diesel powerplant and both the engines will have manual and automatic transmissions. The petrol-powered mill is likely to be a 1.4-litre Multi Air Turbo unit and the diesel is expected to be a 2.0-litre Multijet II turbo motor. The manual transmission, in all probability, will have a six-speed setup whereas the automatic transmission could feature a nine-speed one. Moreover, Jeep is likely to offer the Compass with only all-wheel drive powertrains, although the AWD system offered may vary from variant to variant.
Once launched, the Jeep Compass will lock horns with the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and the Skoda Yeti. Can it be the model to finally get the numbers rolling Jeep's way in India? Only time will tell!
Source: Cardekho.com
