Jeep had sold 1,441 units of the Compass in March last year, while the American manufacturer sold 1,278 lesser units in the same month this year
Due the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a 21-day nation-wide lockdown was instated in the country from 24th March to 14th April in order to curb the community spread of the novel disease. This has resulted in a poor FY ending for all automobile manufacturers in the country, and the FCA-owned Jeep was one of the worst performers in terms of monthly sales in March 2020.
Jeep could only manage to sell a total of 163 units of the Compass in the entire country last month till the lockdown, which has resulted in a 89 per cent YoY degrowth in sales, since the American carmaker sold 1,441 units of the SUV in March 2019. Jeep had sold 666 Compass’ in February 2020, which means that the MoM sales also recorded a decline, by 76 per cent.
This placed Jeep at the bottom of the monthly sales chart, just ahead of Volkswagen. The carmaker’s previous market share of 0.5 per cent was reduced to just 0.1 per cent last month. As of now, Jeep only retails one mass-market SUV in the Indian market, i.e. the Compass, along with its Trailhawk rated iteration.
The Compass is currently offered with a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine that puts out 173 PS of maximum power, along with 350 Nm of peak torque; and a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol motor that makes 162 PS and 250 Nm. The petrol models come with a two-wheel drive configuration as standard, but the top-end diesel trims can be had with a 4×4 driving setup.
Jeep is also apparently working on a 7-seat version of the Compass for both the international, as well as the Indian market. The D-segment SUV has been internally codenamed Low-D, and is expected to be introduced in the market next year.
Jeep currently retails the five-seat Compass at a starting price of Rs 16.49 lakh, which goes up to Rs 24.99 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom). The car competes against the likes of the MG Hector, Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV500, as well as the Hyundai Tucson, in the Indian market.