FCA to invest $250 million in India; to launch 4 new SUVs

Jeep plans to launch a new 7-seater SUV in India and will start local assembly of the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is planning to invest US$ 250 million in its India unit, taking its total investment in the country to over US$ 700 million. The company has also announced that over the next 2 years, Jeep will launch four new SUVs in the Indian market.

With the fresh investment, Jeep plans to manufacture a mid-size 3-row SUV in India. The new 7-seater SUV is expected to compete with the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner.

Jeep will also assemble the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee in India. At present, both models are imported as completely built units (CBU). Shifting to CKD assembly would enable Jeep to price the SUVs more competitively.

This year, Jeep will introduce the Compass facelift. The SUV is scheduled to be unveiled on January 7, 2021. The updated Compass features subtle exterior changes. On the inside, the SUV gets a redesigned dashboard with a floating 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment head-unit that gets Amazon Alexa support, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and can receive over-the-air updates.