Jeep Compass starts production in India; likely launch in Q3

Jeep Compass, a part of the umbrella automaker Fiat Chrysler, has started its manufacturing plant in the country. The Ranjangaon facility in Maharashtra has rolled out first Made In India Jeep last week. The development made India only the 4th country in the world to manufacture Jeep after China, Mexico and Brazil. Paul Alcala, COO of Fiat Chrysler for Asia Pacific region, was also present at the event, and commented that “The establishment of manufacturing operations and start of production of the Jeep Compass is an important milestone for our journey in India. The Compass will be the first Made-in-India Jeep, and we are appreciative of the government’s efforts to make India a desirable manufacturing destination for multinational organizations like ours”. He further added that “With the start of production and an investment of $280 million in Jeep Compass localization, we are reaffirming our commitment to Indian consumers and our long-term presence in the country”.

While the production has started, the plant will start producing at full capacity only from July. The company has invested $280 million in the plant, and will start exports from the unit in the last quarter of 2017. The vehicle will start hitting the domestic market by the third quarter of current year.

The Ranjangaon manufacturing plant is a 50:50 joint venture between Fiat Chrysler and Tata Motors, and has capacity to produce 160,000 units and 350,000 engines. The Indian plant is the only one among the four global manufacturing units of Fiat that will roll out right hand drive models.