The Indian arm of the American utility vehicle specialist Jeep had launched its most affordable model, the Compass in the country at an introductory price sticker of Rs 14.95 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. Since its launch here, the compact SUV has garnered over 5,000 bookings and counting. Now, the question arises what will the Jeep India’s next?
Well, there is no official information from the carmaker, yet the Renegade is expected to be the next offering from Jeep India. As the Renegade was under testing in India for quite some time. Altogether, the Financial Express report suggests, the Jeep Renegade may showcase at the 2018 Delhi Auto Expo in February.
As the Jeep Compass has been welcomed warm hearted by the Indian audience, it can prompt the carmaker to fast-track the introduction of Jeep Renegade under 10 lakhs. The model will rival with the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Breeza and the Ford Ecosport in the segment.
After its premiere at the event, the Renegade is expected to hit the dealerships anytime in mid-2018. The short of things that the Renegade shares the same platform of the compass so the FCA, the parent company of the Jeep will not have the need to invest heavily in the manufacturing of the small SUV.
Under the hood, India-spec Jeep Renegade is likely getting power from the same 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol and 2.0-litre MultiJet diesel powertrains shared from the Jeep Compass.
In the home market, the US, Renegade is an entry-level SUV from Jeep. Offered in 4X2 and 4X4 options, the SUV have four trims – Sport, Latitude, Altitude and Trailhawk. The first three variants are equipped with a 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged petrol engine that belts out the maximum power of 160hp. While the Trailhawk is powered by a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated MultiAir petrol engine.
The Jeep Renegade manufacturing is also expected at FCA's Ranjangaon plant in Pune as like the Compass. In that case, the SUV in question will be the second SUV from Jeep brand to be manufactured in India.