Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India has officially announced the arrival of Jeep into India. Fiat, which owns the Jeep brand globally, will bring two models to India as direct imports (Completely Built Units) – The Wrangler Unlimited and the Grand Cherokee. However, the company has also made another announcement that they will add another vehicle to this line-up. It is expected to be an all-new, premium Jeep SUV, when local production starts at its Ranjangaon manufacturing facility, near Pune, next year.Meanwhile, the Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Grand Cherokee will be sold through 10 Jeep distribution outlets called Jeep Destination Stores, in nine Indian cities by the end of this year.
The Jeep Destination Stores are designed to be premium and world class, and have a high level of engagement with walk-in customers, prospects and visitors. However it seems that new Jeep products are priced very high for the Indian market. The Wrangler Unlimited has been priced at Rs 71.5 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi, while the Grand Cherokee carries a price tag starting at RS 93.5 lakhs and the highest variant, which is the super powerful SRT variant will cost you Rs 1.12 crores. Considering that you could buy a Land Rover Defender or a BMW X5 and an Audi Q7 at a more competitive price, it looks like Jeep might struggle to gain the sales number it is aiming for.
