[i74js]

Does this mean FCA is looking at change of brand to do business in India?

F is J
I is E
A is also E
T, lets consider it P

Last year before the arrival of JEEP, there were speculations of Tipo being planned for India - as replacement of aging Linea. It never happened !

Shifting gears -

We have 2 CBU offerings from JEEP followed by unveiling of Compass planned to be launched few months from now and Renegade at the entry level CUV / SUV / Crossover next year.

There is no news whatsoever from the Fiat Camp ! Is there some news on Tipo or launch of new sedan? I would like to replace my Punto with a Fiat only, would have looked at JEEP but it is certainly beyond my budget and commuting needs.

Cheers !

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by i74js

Does this mean FCA is looking at change of brand to do business in India?

FCA will concentrate on SUV/CUV's in India and focus is on brand- JEEP.

It is unlikely India will get TIPO/ X6H/X6S anytime soon(.. 2019)

[sgmuser]

Really surprised at the different types of price speculations in different websites. Last one being Hindu, I couldn't understand may be this is from an uninformed editor? Compass being pitted against Creta and not Tucson level? Why Fiat making mistakes again and again in their PR? This car I assumed is in the level of CRV, Tucson etc in terms of quality, size, capability and price. This will confuse the buyer a lot. Fiat should take a leaf out of Toyota on how they do marketing/PR.

http://www.thehindu.com/business/Ind...le17956589.ece

[rohansachar]

Got a chance to attend the unveil event for the Jeep Compass yesterday:


Some of the pictures I clicked:

[aviraj]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

If this is positioned between the Creta and the XUV, I would skip both those and go for the Jeep Compass. If it is priced closer to the Tucson, I might go for the Tucson.

For the first time, we T-BHPians cannot even get a hang of which segment a car would be competing in - definitely says something about Jeep, and its pricing games in the Indian subcontinent

PS: I don't have the money to buy any of the above mentioned vehicles, I only have dreams and ideas

With a 2.0L engine and superior build, features and quality, they are obviously not competing with Creta and Duster. The game is in the 20L+ segment where CRV, Tucson, Tiguan etc will be the direct competitors same as the international market. It will remain an aspirational vehicle and the sales numbers will show that. I dont expect anything vastly different from Tucson and CRV

[GKR9900]

"Jeep to launch it's most affordable offering at 15 lakhs!"

When I came across this title a few months back, I literally had my jaws down on the floor. I soon came to my senses though. Remember the time when Audi and Mercedes were all set to launch their most affordable offerings in the name of A3 and CLA at 20 lakhs? We all know how that story went. Them Germans made sure that my jaw stayed plastered to my mouth for quite some time. Now here comes the industry's big shots claiming the Compass to be launched at 15 lakhs. As with any other naive petrolhead, my hopes have shot up to the skies.

Let me try to explain how I see it. Hyundai could pitch the Creta into the minds of us SUV-crazy Indians as 'the perfect SUV'. Mind you, it's more or less a raised hatchback with quality and equipment better than it's competitors. Despite the ill fate of their previous SUVs, Hyundai still decided to charge a premium for Creta. It was an instant hit! Enter Tucson, the Creta's big brother. By the way it's been priced, we know that Hyundai is not bothered about volumes here. And they don't want it to cannibalise their hit SUV either. The numbers speak for themselves and Tucson isn't exactly a volume-seller.

Now here comes Jeep. The American brand revered for it's macho SUVs and has quite an alluring brand pull. The way Wrangler and Grand Cherokee has been priced were dis-heartening to say the least. So when the news about the Compass being launched at a mouth-watering price surfaced, I was soon to dismiss it. But the more info I get, more hope I have of Jeep going for an aggressive pricing.

First, we have prominent auto mags hinting at a 16L ex-showroom price. Someone has already mentioned in the thread that one dealership guy was sure about the pricing. We'll leave it at that for now. Here are the facts that come to my mind.

- Jeep establishing a production facility for the Compass here. They could've just gone for the CBU route. Price it at a slightly less premium over the entry level Germans, sit back and relax. Something Volvo has been doing for ages now! At least it looks like they're dedicating themselves to this market which is great to see for any enthusiast.

- The engine transmission specs. The bigger Tigershark petrol is missing. The 1.4 motor could be a way to bring down the costs and thus the starting price. The Tucson petrol comes with the 2.0 Nu engine. So it wouldn't be a sin to expect a big price gap between these two, at least in their petrol avatars.(Fingers crossed as even an Audi A4 now comes with a 1.4 TFSI) Also not introducing a diesel AT at launch could be a way to cap the ex-showroom prices. This might help them in pitching the thought of the Compass being significantly cheaper than it's main competitor, the Tucson.

- The need for market penetration. In a country where the default choice for a 25 lakh car is a Toyota, the only thing a relatively unknown brand with a small number of dealers and unknown ASS can do is disruptive pricing to shake up the market, especially after investing so much for a production facility.

-> Then also, the specs sheet has mentioned about a host of other technologies. I believe that the terrain response system is available only on the Hexa and Endeavour, this side of 50 lakhs. All that tech is certainly not gonna be cheap. Add to that the Jeep pedigree. Would they really go about diluting their premiumness for the sake of volumes? I wish they do!

Well Jeep, you guys have certainly got our attention. Let's see if you can live up to the hype!

[avira_tk]

This vehicle will be priced at near European levels, India is a hub for exports to RHD markets as far as the investment is concerned. Fiat already has experience operating a factory without any sales - the MJD engine franchise. Does the dealership network match Skoda atleast? If not, they are not interested in India sales at all.

India has a long way to go before sales in the 20 lakhs segment have substantial numbers. Jeep should have rolled out the smaller vehicle first, cheap and best works well in this country, FCA is a non entity as far as brand recognition(positive association) is concerned.

[volkman10]

ACI's first look video of the Jeep Compass!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MxSkXItt4

[RavenAvi]

The Compass, when launched, will come with a frequency selective damping system, which automatically alters the dampers for rough roads and corners. It will also be equipped with Driveline Disconnect Technology (DDT), which would disengage the rear axle in normal driving conditions, keeping the vehicle in 2WD mode.

The SUV has been under development since the last three years, with extensive testing being conducted all across the country. Production is now slated to commence in June 2017, with a focus on achieving premium quality and finesse levels, up to the extent of 1mm. Speaking at the reveal in Pune today, Kevin Flynn, president and MD, FCA India, said, “The local production of the Jeep Compass is firmly on track and we are all set to begin local production of the Jeep brand’s Global SUV by June this year. The Jeep Compass will come with industry-first features and will set benchmarks in the Indian SUV space.”

The Compass will come loaded with off-road Jeep credentials, including its four-wheel drive system, the Jeep Active Drive, which will come paired with its Selec-Terrain traction management system. The C-SUV will also be a lot more efficient by utilising Driveline Disconnect Technology (DDT), which would disengage the rear axle in normal driving conditions, keeping the vehicle in 2WD mode. The C-SUV would also boast of a Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) system, which will offer variable damping, by sensing the undulations on the road.

The Compass also scores high on the safety front, with more than 50 safety features on-board, including six airbags with dual stage passenger airbags, ABS, ESC, Hill Start Assist and Dynamic Safety Torque (DST) to name a few. Audio duties will be taken care of by a 7-inch Uconnect touch-screen infotainment system, offering both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Autocar Professional

[shankar.balan]

With all these fancy features, it seems to have even more than the Yeti and Fortuner and so on.
Do we really expect the Top Spec to clock in at any less than Rs 32-34 lacs on road?

I would venture that such an expectation is merely a pipe dream and doomed to fail.

It just does not make logical sense to expect a price for the Compass to hover at 15-20 lacs! Irrespective of what anyone may say!

[LionX]

Jeep Compass Trailhawk India launch at Auto Expo 2018

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...18-404677.aspx

[shibujp]

A lot of these European and American manufacturers now consider India to be a low cost manufacturing base especially for their smaller cars and SUVs. To them volumes in India do not matter as long at they are able to export the vehicles cost effectively.

I think Jeep is also looking to do the same and are not going to price the SUV at less than 20 lakhs. If they do too, they would need way more service availability than they have now. I don't think many dealers are going to pop up for a brand with three products and two of them selling for over 50L rupees. Service will have to be priced very high to make a margin in this case.

Anyway would love to be proved wrong.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Do we really expect the Top Spec to clock in at any less than Rs 32-34 lacs on road?

It just does not make logical sense to expect a price for the Compass to hover at 15-20 lacs! Irrespective of what anyone may say!

In the ACI video Shapur Kotwal says that this is a sub 20 lakh rupee car. I think the petrol manual base version might be below 20 lakhs. The brand has a strong pull, but they need to think about their after sales service strategy for this product to excel.

[Redline6800]

My only experience with an SUV, was a few months with a Scorpio.

Would it be fair to assume that Jeep's 4X4 pedigree and robust mechanicals required as a result thereoff would deliver a vehicle that would be reliable/fuss free for an ownership period of 8-10 years just as the Toyota's?

If anyone could shed light on how Jeep's are perceived out of India - in terms of reliability it would be great.

Personally speaking, I found the Jeep brand to resonate more with me for an SUV purchase than a Chevrolet, Hyundai and a notch above the Toyota's and Mitsubishi's.

[mjumrani]

To my knowledge Jeep brand is not reliable at all. Consumer reports says same. I wonder what brand pull Jeep has in India.


10 Least reliable cars by Consumer Reports

Edmunds Jeep Compass Reliability

A friend of mine was looking for a luxury SUV and asked me how is Cherokee, told him to stay away from it