The manufacturer have stated their plans till April 2020 and said it will focus on retaining its Premium SUV position.
The growth in the passenger car market has been the slowest in the last five years. It is mainly due to the high insurance cost, credit crunch and uncertainty before the general election result. It is also due to the government regulating BS-VI emission norms and manufacturers have started producing the engine.
Fiat has sourced that when all these rush of manufacturers moving to the BS-VI compliance engine will get over, then only they will bring new vehicles into the market.
Also Read: Jeep Compass Trailhawk Spotted – Gets 9-Speed Automatic Gearbox
Till then the company will mostly rely on the upcoming Jeep Compass Trailhawk which offers a 9-speed automatic transmission. The power sources from a 2.0-litre multijet diesel engine which produces 177bhp with 350Nm of torque. The car will come in BS-VI compliance engine.
The mid-cycle facelift of the Jeep Compass may also come so that the premium SUV segment doesn’t get hit. The company hints on updating the current premium SUV segment and retain its position.
Rather than bringing a new car in the fiscal year where the growth in passenger vehicle have dipped, it is better to retain the position they have occupied and brought changes to the segment.
After April 2020, the company is expected to bring a 7-seater SUV based on Compass and the small B SUV for the upcoming years.
Kevin Flynn, MD of FCA India expressed his thought that ‘the company has invested to be a part of long term growth in the market. The current slowdown is a temporary phase and the market will bounce back again’.
He further added, they are eager to see the reality of economic growth, the capability of people to increase their interest and buy the car they have to offer. The overall plan is to enrich the range in India. To add more, he said we have added variants of Compass at the entry variant and top of the line too.
Their action plan is simple, they want to retain their premium SUV market which was a little affected with the competition. The launch of Tata Harrier and upcoming MG Hector might take a dig for Jeep Compass.
The announcement of the Jeep products will be heard somewhere around June. Till then the company wants to shift their BS-IV engines to BS-VI ones to comply with the government rules.
