Jeep had made the announcement last year that it's all set to bring in the Compass to India and it was in this month itself that the company gave us a peek into pre-production version of the car which will eventually prove to be the bread winner for the company. With the launch scheduled in the third quarter of 2017, the Jeep Compass will be the most affordable SUV from the Jeep stable in India and yes this means that the price of the car will start around Rs. 18 lakh (ex-showroom) for the base manual variant and it's this price tag that'll make a lot of difference for the car maker.
The company has already invested $280 million in the Ranjangaon plant so that the facility is state-of th-the art and will be able to manufacture the Compass for global markets. Of course the other products from the Jeep stable will benefit from this investment and the company has plans to bring in the Renegade soon to India, however, our sources say that Fiat will wait till 2019 for the car to be made in India and exported to other markets.
The Jeep Compass shares its design and styling with the Grand Cherokee
The Compass is an important product for Jeep and that's not just from a volumes/sales point of view. There were a lot of people, including us, who were quite surprised by the prices of the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler, when it was first launched and with prices starting from Rs. 71 lakh, it was out of reach for most. This is where the Compass' pricing plays an important role and Jeep India is aware of it. President and Managing Director, FCA India, Kevin Flynn said, "Pricing is an extremely important aspect and we are working on it. Expect the price of the car to be extremely competitive and considering that the car will be made in India, we are sure that the customers will be happy when we launch the car in August this year"
FCA's Ranjangaon facility is extremely important for Jeep India and the plant will act as a global export hub for the Right-Hand-Drive (RHD) Compass. The made-in-India SUV will be shipped to the likes of UK, Australia, New Zealand among others. While the company is coy about the percentage of localisation, Kevin Flynn did mention that the company had worked tirelessly with the component manufacturers in India to make certain that the product meets global standards and he mentioned that he is extremely happy to say that it had.
The Jeep Compass will enter production in June 2017
The engines that the Compass comes with, meet the Euro VI norms and there'll be no problem for the car maker when BS-VI emission norms are introduced in India in 2020. As far as crash tests are concerned, the Jeep Compass already meets all the international safety standards and according to Mr. Flynn, 'The car will pass all the safety regulations which will be introduced in India soon.'
The engines on the Jeep Compass too are of relevance. The 1.4-litre petrol has always been part of Fiat's line-up but the introduction of a 2-litre oil burner, makes things even more interesting. We've already told you about how FCA plans to sell this engine to other manufacturers already and this will be the second area where the moolah will pour in for FCA India.
We can't wait to drive the car, though we already know so much about it. Come June, we will get a chance to get behind the wheel of this one and we are sure you too are eagerly waiting for the car to step foot in India.
