The Jeep brand will finally enter India on August 30, 2016 as reported by us earlier. The historic SUV brand, now owned by the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles has been testing its products in India for a few years now has been delaying its India entry due to various reasons.
Jeep showcased its offerings for the first time to the Indian audience at Auto Expo 2016 earlier this year. It will initially sell two models in India, the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, and will also bring the high-performance SRT brand with the launch of the Grand Cherokee SRT in India.
The carmaker will initially start India operations with only two dealers in Delhi and Ahmadabad, followed by a dealership in Kochi with Mumbai to follow the year-end. The Ahmadabad Jeep dealership will be run by Concept Motors,who also has a Hyundai dealership in the city. The Kochi dealership will be operated by Pinnacle motors.
Interestingly, the Jeep dealership in Delhi will only be able to sell the Grand Cherokee SRT for now since the diesel-powered Jeep models come with engines above the 2,000cc mark and hence won’t be sold, thanks to the ongoing diesel ban.
The Jeep Wrangler for India will come only in the long-wheelbase ‘Unlimited’ guise and will be powered by a 2.8-litre diesel engine. It is likely to be priced around Rs 40 lakh mark. The Grand Cherokee will come with a 3.0-litre diesel engine and will get two trim options. Prices for the Grand Cherokee diesel will hover around the Rs 75 lakh mark. The performance-oriented Grand Cherokee SRT will make its debut as well, likely to be priced around Rs-1.5-crore mark.