Jeep compact SUV is expected to launch in India in late 2022 or early 2023 and it could be underpinned by Citroen’s CMP platform
Jeep India has been selling the Compass since July 2017 in the domestic market and it used to average 2,500 units a month and reached 25,000 unit sales in a short span of time. The American SUV manufacturer has been expanding the Compass’ range with the introduction of new variants and special editions but the competition did catch up.
Earlier this year, the brand did respond with the market debut of the facelifted Compass, composing a host of interior and exterior updates alongside new features and technologies. Following its launch, the locally-assembled Wrangler did come into the picture midway through May 2021 with a huge price drop of over Rs. 10 lakh.
The Grand Cherokee will also be locally assembled in the near future. The brand’s next big launch in India is undoubtedly the seven-seater version of the Compass and it could go by a different name. Expected to go on sale in 2022, it will compete against a host of three-row premium SUVs upon arrival.
Jeep is also working on bringing a more volume-based sub-four-metre SUV and here you see a rendering of it. It boasts the signature multi-slated front grille with slender headlamps, a busy bumper section with sporty fog lamps, wide central air intake, raked front windshield, muscular bonnet and circular wheel arches with black cladding.
The pillars, roof and wing mirrors are done up in black colour giving a dual-tone appearance. At the rear, the Jeep compact SUV gets wraparound LED tail lamps, bold Jeep lettering, boot integrated spoiler, high-mounted stop lamp, grey roof rails, etc can be seen. The production version is expected to carry a bold styling found in the other Jeep SUVs.
It will reportedly be based on the same CMP architecture as the upcoming Citroen CC21 as both the brands come under Stellantis. Thus, it may as well use a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with manual and automatic transmission options. Media reports suggest that the production of a compact Jeep SUV will begin at the Tychy factory in Poland for Europe by July 2022.