FCA to ride in Rubicon next month, to assemble 2-3 new Jeep models from 2021

FCA India, which has made a mark with Jeep Compass, is bringing in the iconic Wrangler Rubicon by the end of March even as it is working on rolling out two-three more Jeep models from its Ranjangaon facility in Pune next year.

Since the launch in July 2017, FCA has sold more than 50,000 units of Jeep Compass in the domestic market, and exported over 17,000 units to key right-hand drive markets globally.

"We have received huge bookings for the Rubicon. In fact, we are already sold out for a few months. We are bringing in the iconic car to the country by the end of March as we see a good market," FCA India President and Managing Director Partha Datta told PTI in an interview.

Apart from Compass, Wrangler Unlimited is the most successful model for the company, accounting for almost 67 per cent of the CBU (completely built unit or imported) volume here since launch in August 2016, he said.

The other CBUs sold by the company here are Wrangler and Grand Cherokee.

Rubicon, which will carry a price tag of above Rs 72 lakh, will be BS-VI complaint and sport a Trailhawk engine. The fully automatic Rubicon will also be available in diesel, he said.

FCA has invested USD 280 million (about Rs 2,000 crore) in the country so far and the success of Jeep Compass in the initial years has ensured that it has recovered its entire investment within the first 10 months of launching Compass -- a first for any foreign auto brand here, especially for American brands as both GM and Ford have failed miserably twice.

The runaway success of Compass was primarily because of the low price tag, starting at Rs 14.95 lakh.

Today, over 50,000 Jeep Compass are plying on Indian roads, while the company has also shipped as many as 17,000 units to around 15 key right-hand drive markets, including Britain, Japan and Australia, among others.

"We are very serious with our operations here. We consider the current fall in the volume as a blip and we are very sure it will pass. The headquarters is also very happy with us. We've had a huge success and are sure to repeat it again here," Datta, who has spent over two decades with the group, said.

On the need for more models, he said, "We fully understand, to be more successful we need more models which so far we could not have. So, beginning next year, we will have more than two Jeep models being rolled out from the Ranjangaon facility."