The American off-road and sports utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer Jeep, now part of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) was introduced to Indian consumers in Jodhpur on Tuesday. The brand which had been showcased during the Auto Expo in February has been in the works for a long time. Kevin Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of FCA India explained that the carmaker has just invested a significant $280 million at the manufacturing facilities in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra and is in the process of starting to make a ‘Made In India’ SUV from 2017.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Flynn explained that the vehicles being launched now, the Wrangler Unlimited, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT are fully imported ‘completely Built Up’ units for “the discerning customer” and will be used to establish a Jeep base here. With plans to have 10 Jeep Dealers in nine cities across India by the end of 2016, Flynn believes Jeep is building up well for their C-SUV crossover car coming next year. The first dealership will open in Ahmedabad followed by showrooms in Delhi, Bangalore and Chandigarh.
As a result of the cars being imported, Jeep has priced their cars quite high compared to the the competition. The Wrangler Unlimited will have an ex-showroom price of Rs 71.6 lakh; the Grand Cherokee limited Rs 93.6 lakh; Grand Cherokee Summit Rs 1.03 crore and the Grand Cherokee SRT Rs 1.12 crore. The high prices mean these Jeep vehicles might find it difficult competing with established brands such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
However, Flynn feels that the Jeep introduction could help revitalise the company including the Fiat brand. “We have also established a modern parts warehouse, road assistance and warranty program to ensure we are top in class in service.”
However, while Flynn did not admit as such, recent decisions by the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court on diesel vehicles impacted their plans.
“The SRT features the famous ‘Hemi’ engine which is obviously petrol, but looking at Fiat where we have suddenly see Petrol engine demand hit 70 per cent from under 50 percent six months ago, I finally feel consumer behaviour is changing. A good strategy would now be to cover both fuels, so we are launching more petrol options for our buyers in a couple of months.”
“legislation steers and drives Research and Development and and while we feel alternative drive sources are needed and must be developed, legislation must support this as must infrastructure buildout.”
