US carmaker Jeep got off to a splendid start in the Indian market thanks to the good demand for their first vehicle Compass in the Indian market. The company also recently launched an off-road friendly version of the same SUV for the Indian market by the name of Compass Trailhawk. The Compass Trailhawk is the top end model of the company’s model line-up in India as of now. However, not to be placated by the compact SUV segment, the company has now begun eyeing other parts of the market to expand its sales in India. There are reports that US company will now start work on a 7-seater version of the successful Compass SUV for the Indian market. The launch of the new 7-seater SUV is supposed to take sometime between 2020 and 2021. Upon launch, this SUV from the US maker will take on the likes of Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner in India.
Jeep is also planning on bringing other SUVs to the Indian market and apart from the 7-seater version of Compass, the brand also intends to bring out a smaller version of Compass in the Indian market to corner the larger share of the compact SUV segment in India. Talking of the 7-seater SUV, there is no official word from FCA on the project yet, but there are rumours surrounding the SUV that it will come with a full 4x4 system and will take on vehicles like the Toyota Fortuner, Honda CR-V, Mahindra Alturas G4, and Ford Endeavour in the Indian market.
A person involved with the development of the upcoming vehicle recently spoke to a leading daily and stated,
“The project has been approved and it will be an offspring of the all new Compass planned for 2020. With the launches of vehicles like Trailhawk, Compass and now the Grand Compass or Compass long, the company wants to reinforce Jeep’s premium positioning in the market, before more accessible compact Jeep hits the market in the subsequent years,”
Just like the Compass and Compass Trailhawk, the upcoming 7-seater SUV from the brand will also be made in India. The aforementioned compact SUV from the brand is also supposed to be manufactured here, as and when the project goes into production. Talking of the performance of the part Italian part American brand in the Indian market, the flying start it had received thanks to the sales of the Compass went down considerably once the competition in the midsize SUV segment intensified. However, Jeep has pinned hopes on the high-end Compass Trailhawk version to maintain momentum in India. Now that a 7-seater SUV is also being planned for the Indian market, the brand is likely to perform well once again in the SUV space in the country.