Production of Jeep 551 (Jeep C-SUV) to start in Jan 2017
Will be made in India also starting in 2017.
The Jeep 551 is expected to debut at the 2016 Sao Paulo Auto Show to be held from November 8-20. However, its sales won't commence anytime before early-2017, as per a report from Automotive News.
According to the report, production of the North American-spec Jeep 551 will commence on January 30, 2017. The Jeep 551, commonly referred to as the Jeep C-SUV, will be built for the North American markets in Toluca, Mexico. Other plants confirmed for production are the Pernambuco assembly plant in Brazil and the Tata-Fiat JV plant in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra in India. Local production could happen in China as well.
The Jeep C-SUV will serve as the second generation model of the Jeep Patriot or the Jeep Compass. Both Patriot and Compass, currently in their first generation, are mechanical twins. Both Patriot and Compass and will continue being sold for model year 2017, as per the report.
Also See: Jeep 551 (Jeep C-SUV) rendered ahead of Sao Paulo debut
The Jeep 551 will be based on the Fiat 500X and the Jeep Renegade‘s small-wide front-wheel drive platform and probably be offered with 164 hp 2.0-liter Tigershark petrol and a 170 hp 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel engines mated to 6-speed manual or 9-speed automatic transmission.
[Source: Automotive News]