Fiat hopes to piggyback on Jeep to revive fortune

The company hopes that Jeep will be able to provide the vital push it needs to remain afloat in the Indian market for the time being

The re-entry of Jeep in India is more than only another addition of a western automobile brand to the already crowded domestic market. The all-American sports utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer is not only looking for a new emerging market but would also help Fiat piggyback on it.

Italian automaker Fiat, which has been in and out of the Indian market, is still struggling to get noticed among the car buying class. With a market share of 0.3 per cent and a product portfolio of just four models, Fiat sales were less than Mercedes-Benz last year, according to data shared by Siam.

Fiat is eager to change this and so it will be launching the Jeep brand later this year. Indian executives hope that Jeep will be able to provide the vital push it needs to keep afloat in the Indian market for the time being before it reinvents itself with the help of new products.   

Kevin Flynn, president and managing director, Fiat Chrysler India, said, “One of the things that gets reflected in the consumer attitude is that the brand is fine but are you going to stay in India. And there has been this thing where we have been in and out (of the country). The launch of Jeep demonstrates we are in the run of it.”

Later this year, Fiat will embark on a brand enhancement programme for the Jeep where it will highlight that Jeep is not a generic term but a brand that belongs to Fiat Chrysler. This, it hopes, will help it relate directly to the consumer and reinforce her confidence in the brand.

“In India, some people use Jeep as a term to define the whole segment. It is our name and we will stake claim to it now that we are in India,” Flynn added.

Jeep, which is a 75-year-old brand, will commercially launch the Wrangler, Cherokee and Cherokee SRT in the coming months, all of which will be imported into India. Further joint promotion of the two brands is not ruled out by Fiat either.

“We have a fantastic reputation for our products but at the same time there is a calling from the market of ‘what next?’ So we are going to launch Jeep destination stores and at the same time we have plans for Fiat development. We can use the Fiat infrastructure to bring it to Jeep standards and offer a great coverage for both the brands in terms of aftersales care and support,” added Flynn.  

Fiat will open seven new dealerships for Jeep in top key cities, which will be expanded to ten cities later.

And finally, it will share product platforms to leverage each other’s strength in vehicle development. This will be in areas on compact sports utility vehicle and a standard SUV, which will be launched at later stages, according a presentation made by Fiat earlier. A new Jeep model will start coming out from the Ranjangaon plant near Pune in 2017 at an investment of $280 million (Rs 1,900 crore).