Jeep Compass RHD version to be made exclusively in India

Will be launched in India in mid-2017.

The 2017 Jeep Compass had its North American debut at the 2016 LA Auto Show yesterday and Chinese premiere the day before. The baby Grand Cherokee is already in production in Pernambuco, Brazil, but only in left-hand drive. The right-hand drive version will be made exclusively in India, the company has confirmed.

The LHD (second-gen) Jeep Compass, besides Pernambuco, Brazil, will be made in Guangzhou, China and in Toluca, Mexico. But the right-hand drive version will be exclusive to the Tata-FCA JV’s Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra, India. FCA India will skip assembling SKD/CKD, and go straight from importing CBUs (Wrangler and Grand Cherokee) to highly localised manufacturing. About 80% of the Compass will be localised right from the first day of production.

The Jeep Compass' trial production will begin early next year, and the car will launch in the market in mid-2017. Five engines - three petrol and two diesel, will be available globally, and there will be a total of 17 different powertrain options. Two full-time 4x4 systems will be available: Jeep Active Drive and Jeep Active Drive Low, with the latter having 20:1 crawl ratio.

In India, the 2017 Jeep Compass could be offered with the 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol and 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engines. The all-new Jeep Compass range will be available in Sport, Longitude and Limited trim levels in India, but not in the Trailhawk trim level which is planned globally.

Also See: 2017 Jeep Compass vs. 2011 Jeep Compass – In Images

Noteworthy features of the 2017 Jeep Compass include 17-inch wheels, LED tail lamps, dual-pane sunroof, 3.5- or 7-inch LED driver information display (DID) instrument cluster, 5.0-, 7.0- or 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment systems and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration.

The Compass is expected to cost under INR 30 lakhs (ex-showroom).