In what could be a huge disruption for the Jeep brand in India and across the world, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne recently admitted that the group was considering selling off the Jeep and Ram brands. The comment was made at a press conference call, which was held to discuss the FCA financial earnings from the first quarter of 2017 which have been much better than originally anticipated. When asked if FCA would consider selling Jeep and Ram by a representative of the Press, Marchionne answered in one word ‘Yes’. Surprisingly, this comment comes at a time when Jeep is one of FCA’s crown jewels and is driving the growth both financially and in terms of brand new models.
If sold, FCA would be only left with Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat in the United States. Incidentally, neither Dodge nor Chrysler have an SUV in their portfolio, a segment that accounts for more than 40% of the American car market. Jeep has also begun to increase FCA sales exponentially in Western Europe, riding on the back of the popular Renegade and Grand Cherokee. Ram, which was hived off into a new brand after it was culled out from the Dodge portfolio is the only mass-market pickup truck brand in the FCA family accounting for sales in another huge chunk of the American car market. And let us not forget the fragile fortunes of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands in Europe and other parts of the world too.
Jeep, the first automaker to really explore the lucrative SUV segment with the launch of the original Jeep Wagoneer and then with the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee decades ago. It is the only real part of FCA that has been constantly bringing new and updated products to the market that have a global appeal. In India, Jeep has invested Rs 1800 Crore at the Fiat factory in Ranjangaon in order to accommodate production of the Jeep Compass. The Indian factory will not just be used to meet demands for the Indian market, which is always SUV hungry, but also be used as a hub for all right hand drive markets around the world including the United Kingdom, South Africa, South East Asia, Japan and Australia.
