The Jeep Compass SUV is facing a lot of competition from newly launched products like Tata Harrier and MG Hector, resulting in a massive sales decline.
The ongoing negative growth in the Indian automobile industry took every car manufacturer and product by storm and there’s hardly any car left untouched. FCA-owned Jeep is one such brand that is facing a tough time in India and recorded a massive 59 percent dip in the sales in the July 2019 data as compared to the same month previous year.
Jeep currently sells Wrangler, Grand Cherokee in India along with the Made-in-India Compass SUV that’s the bread-earner for the brand. Decline in Jeep sales means the Compass is doing fairly poor in the market with around 500 units displaced in July 2019.
While the overall market slump is one reason, the growing competition in the premium/ mid-premium SUV segment is also a major reason. In the last one year alone, cars like Tata Harrier and MG Hector were launched in this segment that stole the limelight away from the American brand.
While Tata Harrier, the brand’s most premium product is doing well selling 1,500+ units on a monthly basis, the MG Hector has received an excellent response with 28,000 bookings in the kitty. In fact, MG has dispatched 1,500+ units of Hector in July 2019.
Both the MG Hector and Tata Harrier are priced less than Rs 13 Lakh, while the Jeep Compass starts at Rs 15 lakh. Also, both the cars offer a bigger size and better road presence than the Compass, a reason why many buyers are preferring them over the Compass.
As for the Jeep Compass, it is powered by the same 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Multijet turbo motor which is doing its duty in the Hector and the Harrier. The unit in Jeep makes 172 bhp and 350 Nm of peak torque and is mated to a six-speed gearbox as standard.
There’s also a petrol unit on offer which is the 1.4-litre, four-cylinder MultiAir Turbo motor developing 161 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque and is also offered with an automatic gearbox, while the six-speed manual is standard.