Fiat Chrysler may have a winner in India with Jeep Compass as it touches 10,000 bookings

Key highlights:

• Jeep Compass touched the 10,000 bookings milestone and over 92,000 inquiries as of today
• Jeep Compass has managed to even outsell all the cars sold by its parent company, FCA in July
• It had received 5,000 bookings and over 38,000 inquires at the time of launch

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) seems to be on the cusp of making a comeback in the Indian market with the Jeep Compass seeing phenomenal demand in just a month and a half after launch. The company announced today that the Jeep Compass touched the 10,000 bookings milestone and over 92,000 inquiries as of today.

In fact, in its first month itself Jeep Compass has managed to even outsell all the cars sold by its parent company, FCA. While Fiat sold 185 units of the Punto Abarth, Evo, Avventura and Linea in July, Jeep Compass registered sales of 935 units in July, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers (SIAM).

The Made in India Jeep Compass opened for pre-bookings on June 19 and was launched on July 31 and at the time of the launch itself had announced that it had received 5,000 bookings and over 38,000 inquires.

It seems that the newly launched SUV has created quiet a stir in the market with its demand. So much so that even Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors have taken to creating print ads which took a dig at the “Compass” and told people to go instead for their SUVs.

The Jeep Compass was launched in India at the end of July and priced between Rs 14.95 lakh to Rs 20.65 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This is one of the cheapest out if the Jeep brand stable. However, it is a little higher than some of its competitors.

The Jeep Compass competes with several other SUVs such as the Renault Duster, Tata Hexa, Mahindra XUV 500 and Hyundai Tucson.

While the Mahindra XUV 500 is priced between Rs 12.19 lakh to Rs 17.07 lakh (ex-showroom), the Tata Hexa is priced between Rs 10.95 lakh to Rs 16.13 lakh (ex-showroom), Renault Duster priced between Rs 8.29 lakh and Rs 13.46 lakh (ex-showroom) and Hyundai Tucson priced at Rs 18.13 lakh to Rs 23.86 lakh (ex-showroom).

However, in terms of its specifications, it has an edge with its superiority in the segment.

The Jeep Compass costing Rs 14.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) comes with 1.4 Multi-Air Turbo Petrol ‘Sport’ 4x2 variant with a 6-speed manual transmissionand tops with the 2.0L MultiJet Turbo Diesel ‘Limited (O)’ 4x4 variant with a 6-speed manual transmission.

The Jeep Compass comes with two engine options – a 2.0-litre MultiJet Turbo Diesel engine which dishes out 173 PS and torque of 350 Nm and a 1.4 Multi-Air Turbo Petrol engine with gives out power of 162 PS and torque of 250 Nm.

The Jeep Compass is available to customers in three trims - Sport, Longitude and Limited and 10 variants, including a 4x2 Turbo Petrol with a 7-speed automatic transmission (DDCT).

The XUV 500 W8 variant comes with a 2.0 petrol engine which give a displacement of 1999 cc and power of 153BHP and torque of 193Nm. This is a little lower comparison to the Jeep Compass Sport.

The Tata Hexa XMA variant comes with a 2.2 litre Varicor 400 engine which dishes out a power of 154BHP and torque of 400 Nm.

Kevin Flynn – President and Managing Director, FCA India said, “The Made in India Jeep Compass has gained remarkable traction in the market since we opened the order books in June. Along with the incredible response to our pricing, which has been simply overwhelming, customers are also drawn to the Jeep Compass for its impressive character, sophistication, capability and authenticity. We are working with our Plant to deliver the product to customers in the least possible time.”

FCA India started deliveries of the Jeep Compass on August 6, 2017.

The Jeep Compass is currently being retailed out of 50 Jeep-flagship and FCA outlets, across 47 cities. FCA is expanding its sales network to 60 outlets by the end of this calendar year.

Kevin Flynn concluded, “Our go-to-market strategy has worked as planned and now we are focusing on execution. We are giving equal priority to Jeep Compass retails, expanding our sales and service network, and strengthening our Mopar-driven after-sales operations.”

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