The new SUV from Jeep (Codename:551) will be unveiled at the Sao Paulo motor show in November this year.
The model will be positioned above Jeep's smallest offering, the Renegade (internally known as B-SUV), and is set to replace the Jeep Compass and Patriot offered on sale globally. Sources tell us that there are chances of the new car carrying forward the 'Compass' moniker, as it was the more popular brand between the two. This new SUV's design will be near identical to that of the larger Grand Cherokee.
As confirmed, Jeep will make its official entry into the Indian market later this year. The iconic SUV-maker displayed the Jeep Wrangler, the Grand Cherokee diesel and the Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee SRT at Auto Expo 2016 earlier this year. Although the manufacturer will make its entry with these three models which will be CBU inputs, it has plans to bring in two smaller models that are likely to be sold via the CKD route.
The Jeep 551 will be one of the models that will be locally assembled at Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility near Pune. The Jeep C-SUV will be powered by a 170bhp 2.0-litre Multijet II diesel engine that will be localised. The engine will also be seen in Tata's Q501 SUV in the future. When launched, the new Jeep SUV will take on the likes of Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour.
In addition to this, there are talks of a Fiat derivative which will be based on the same platform, and will replace the Freemont in global markets.
Apart from the Grand Cherokee twins and the Wrangler, Jeep is also testing the smaller Renegade SUV in India. However, this model is yet to be officially confirmed for the market here. The Ranjangaon plant will be the fourth manufacturing facility for Jeep, globally.
Computer-generated rendering source: Qatro Rodas