Jeep Compass Production Commences In India; Launch In August

The Jeep Compass has been officially rolled out from the company's Ranjangoan plant. As we've told you earlier, it is the first Jeep model to be manufactured in India and it's taken a long time for it to happen. Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was present at the roll out ceremony and he said that when he first went to Detroit, he drove the Wrangler and that's when he told the FCA officials there that a Jeep had to be manufactured in India and well, here it is. Last month the company unveiled the SUV in India for the first time and we got a glimpse of what the car looks like. In fact we've even gotten behind the wheel of the new Compass and we told you all about it in our exclusive review.

Also Read: Jeep Compass to be launched on July 31

Jeep India has invested about $280 Million (over Rs. 1,800 Crore) in the development of the new Jeep Compass, at the Ranjangaon facility. Kevin Flynn, President and MD of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), India Operations has mentioned that the Compass manufactured in India is a global product and affirmed our previous claim about the export of India-made Jeep Compass to other international markets. In fact, India will be the sole producer of the Jeep Compass for all the right-hand-drive (RHD) markets like - Australia, UK and Japan. This means we can certainly expect superior quality and performance from the Jeep Compass. And this also makes the Jeep Compass a very important product both for the company as well as India. Jeep India will start exporting the Compass to the aforementioned markets by the end calendar year 2017.

CM Devendra Fadnavis at the Jeep Compass roll out event

Jeep India took 23 months for the development of the facility for the production of the Jeep Compass and about 65 per cent of the parts gone into the production of it have been locally sourced. Additionally, the company will also be launching MOPAR, the company's exclusive source for original equipment parts and accessories for Jeep vehicles to enhance customer service. The SUV will enter mass production by July 2017 and the company has confirmed that the Compass will start arriving at dealerships across India in the third quarter of 2017. Considering that the Jeep Compass is made in India, the prices will remain extremely competitive and we expect them to be in the vicinity of Rs. 18-25 lakh.

Export of the Jeep Compass from India will begin by year-end

The India-spec model will primarily be available in three variants - Sport, Longitude and Limited. We have extensively talked about the design and exterior of the Jeep Compass in our earlier reports and almost everything that the SUV offers. Last month, we brought you our special review of the US-spec Jeep Compass Trailhawk.

Under the hood, the Jeep Compass features two engine - a 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol and a 2-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel motor. The petrol engine makes over 160 bhp and 260 Nm of peak torque and oil burner churns out over 170 bhp and 350 Nm of peak torque. Transmission duties are handled by a 6-speed manual unit and an optional 7-speed automatic gearbox. The Jeep Compass will get a four-wheel-drive system, which will get Jeep's terrain response system. The driving modes will include Snow, Sand and Rock options, which change the characteristics of the power delivery and drive dynamics of the SUV.