Jeep Compass Petrol Automatic variant production begins in India

According to a Team-BHPian, Jeep India has begun production of the Compass Petrol Automatic variants at the Fiat Ranjangaon factory, off Pune. Deliveries of the petrol-automatic variants of this SUV are expected to begin next month and bookings are already on. Currently, Jeep is delivering only the diesel variants of the Compass in India.

The petrol AT combination will be available in Limited and Limited Option variants, priced at Rs 18.96 lakh and Rs. 19.67 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. Both variants use a 1.4 liter turbocharged petrol engine making about 165 Bhp-250 Nm. The automatic transmission in question is a 7 speed dual clutch unit.

Jeep will also deliver the 6 speed manual gearbox equipped Compass Petrol from next month. Early next year, the American SUV brand plans to introduce a diesel-automatic option on this vehicle. Demand for the Compass has been quite good, with more than 10,000 bookings logged in under 2 months of launch.

This SUV happens to be the biggest success for Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) in years. The group was struggling with low sales of Fiat cars before the Compass arrived to save the day. Jeep will also start exporting the Compass from India, to multiple right-hand drive (RHD) markets across the globe. Notably, India is the production hub for the RHD Compass.

Jeep’s future plans for India include a sub-4 meter SUV that will be slotted under the Compass in terms of pricing and positioning. The sub-4 meter SUV is said to be based on the Renegade, but shorted and decontented suitably for the price sensitive Indian market.

The sub-4 meter offering is expected to arrive sometime during next year’s festive season. It’s expected to offer both petrol and diesel engines. Another interesting thing about the new SUV is that it could have a 4X4 option, adding a new dimension to sub-4 meter compact SUV market in India.