‘Not happy with the volumes in India’: Jeep CEO

Chief Executive at Jeep, Christian Meunier stated the automaker wants to grow in India and for that, it is going to aggressively focus on its upcoming plans concerning India. Jeep which holds less than 1 per cent of the country's market informed last year about its plans to invest $250 million to launch four SUVs rivalling Hyundai and Kia, companies which are currently dominating the affordable vehicle segment.

Meunier said though he was ‘not happy with the volumes in India,’ there is no such intention to not reduce the price of vehicles in order to increase the company's market share. He added he wanted Brazil to be the benchmark for sales in India. The automaker sells about 15,000 SUVs a month in the South American country across three models compared to India where it sells less than 1,000 SUVs a month offering models such as Compass and Wrangler. “We're not investing all this money in India for not getting success. We're not here to lose, we're here to win," added Meunier. Though Jeep is working on its electrification goals, the Chief Executive said it plans to bring electric vehicles in the country when India is ready.

Jeep India has announced that it will launch two new sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) in the country in an effort to boost its sales here. Currently, the company is gearing up to launch its latest mid-size SUV Meridian and the Grand Cherokee. The former will build here whereas the latter will be assembled in the country, a step that the company expects will allow it to price these models more competitively.

Jeep India recently teased its upcoming SUV Meridian which is a three-row SUV offering off-road abilities. The company has mentioned this SUV will come with a traction control feature that will make the vehicle capable to tackle different terrains such as mud, snow or sand.

(With inputs from Reuters)