New Delhi: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is pinning hopes on upcoming SUV Jeep Compass to turnaround fortunes of its struggling Indian operations with plans to make the country an export hub to global right hand drive markets.
The Compass will be the first model from the Jeep range to be produced in India and is slated to hit the domestic market in the third quarter of this calendar year. "Compass is the key that unlocks our future here I India," FCA India President and Managing Director Kevin Flynn told PTI.
While the domestic market will be important, he said the company has tweaked its business model in India with exports to be given equal importance so that it is able to utilise capacity at its manufacturing plant.
The model will be produced at Ranjangaon plant, which is a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Motors. It has a capacity to produce 1.6 lakh units and 3.5 lakh engines. FCA has invested USD 280 million at the plant to support local production of Jeep.
"We will be looking at right hand drive markets for export of Compass. The initial markets that we have shortlisted are Japan, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa," Flynn said.
While the Compass could take more of the plant capacity, he said there would also be room for other products. "The success of the Compass project will determine what models would we consider to take up under the new strategy in future," he said.
Flynn said the Indian plant is the only one among the four global manufacturing units of FCA that will roll out right hand drive models. He said the company has also been focusing on local sourcing of components in India.
Other global manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors had also changed their strategy and started giving focus on exports from India. While he did not elaborate on future product plans, in 2014 FCA had announced plans to launch 12 models in India in five years and start producing models from the Jeep brand in the country by 2015. However, it was revised later.
The roll out of Compass from Ranjangaon this year will mark the first model from the brand to be produced from India. FCA has been struggling in the Indian market. Its sales in 2016 declined by 24.71 per cent to 6,785 units as compared to 9,013 units sold in 2015. The company's other brand Fiat has also been unable to make a mark in the market here.
Admitting the struggles of the brand, Flynn said the Indian market has rapidly evolved and there was a need for "freshness" in the Fiat product line up.
