Jeep To Enter India Market In 2015 - Executive
Fiat ChryslerAutomobiles will begin selling Jeep, the SUV brandcentral to its global expansion, in India in 2015, the brand'schief, Mike Manley, said on Thursday.
Manley said the original plan was for Jeep to enter theIndia market in late-2013, but that was delayed because he didnot feel the brand would enter the market strongly at the time.
By 2020 India will be the world's third-largest auto market,behind China and the United States, with sales nearly doublingto about 6 million vehicles, according to consultancy IHSAutomotive.
Manley, speaking at a Fiat Chrysler test track event insoutheast Michigan, said the mid-sized Cherokee and the ruggedWrangler SUV will be the first models sold in India. But thosemodels, which are two core vehicles for the brand, are expectedto corner only a small fraction of the massive Indian marketbecause of their relatively lofty price, which will be escalatedby the import duty.
"If we're going to be successful with Jeep, you'll have tolocalize a vehicle in India," he said.
Jeep could start local production at a Fiat-Tata Motors Ltd joint-venture plant, but there is little sparecapacity as Fiat just refreshed its lineup in India, Manleysaid. He would not discuss future production plans.
Fiat has about 115 dealers in India, but no Jeep dealers. Atthe launch of Jeep sales, Manley said he wants 15 to 20 dealersthere.
ON TRACK FOR 1 MILLION JEEP SALES
Manley also told reporters that Jeep is on track to meetFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne'sambitious goal of selling 1 million vehicles globally this year,up 37 percent.
"Last month helped us a lot, hitting 100,000 vehicles aroundthe world. It was a really big milestone," Manley said.
Whether Jeep hits the 1 million target will largely dependon continued strong Cherokee sales in North America, the successof the ongoing launch of Cherokee in Australia as well as theramp-up of sales of the Renegade in Europe before the end of theyear, Manley said.
Renegade, the subcompact SUV to be produced in Italy, willbe launched in Europe in the fourth quarter and in the UnitedStates in early 2015, Manley said.
While the Wrangler and larger Grand Cherokee SUV are thebest-selling Jeeps, it was through models like the smallerRenegade that Fiat Chrysler hopes to expand the brand outsideNorth America.
Manley has said the small-size SUV market will grow to 2million vehicles worldwide by the end of 2015.
In China, Manley said, the first Jeep Cherokee models are ontrack to be produced there by the end of 2015.
Jeep has about 240 dealers in China, and 360 Fiat dealers
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Fiat ChryslerAutomobiles will begin selling Jeep, the SUV brandcentral to its global expansion, in India in 2015, the brand'schief, Mike Manley, said on Thursday.
Manley said the original plan was for Jeep to enter theIndia market in late-2013, but that was delayed because he didnot feel the brand would enter the market strongly at the time.
By 2020 India will be the world's third-largest auto market,behind China and the United States, with sales nearly doublingto about 6 million vehicles, according to consultancy IHSAutomotive.
Manley, speaking at a Fiat Chrysler test track event insoutheast Michigan, said the mid-sized Cherokee and the ruggedWrangler SUV will be the first models sold in India. But thosemodels, which are two core vehicles for the brand, are expectedto corner only a small fraction of the massive Indian marketbecause of their relatively lofty price, which will be escalatedby the import duty.
"If we're going to be successful with Jeep, you'll have tolocalize a vehicle in India," he said.
Jeep could start local production at a Fiat-Tata Motors Ltd joint-venture plant, but there is little sparecapacity as Fiat just refreshed its lineup in India, Manleysaid. He would not discuss future production plans.
Fiat has about 115 dealers in India, but no Jeep dealers. Atthe launch of Jeep sales, Manley said he wants 15 to 20 dealersthere.
ON TRACK FOR 1 MILLION JEEP SALES
Manley also told reporters that Jeep is on track to meetFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne'sambitious goal of selling 1 million vehicles globally this year,up 37 percent.
"Last month helped us a lot, hitting 100,000 vehicles aroundthe world. It was a really big milestone," Manley said.
Whether Jeep hits the 1 million target will largely dependon continued strong Cherokee sales in North America, the successof the ongoing launch of Cherokee in Australia as well as theramp-up of sales of the Renegade in Europe before the end of theyear, Manley said.
Renegade, the subcompact SUV to be produced in Italy, willbe launched in Europe in the fourth quarter and in the UnitedStates in early 2015, Manley said.
While the Wrangler and larger Grand Cherokee SUV are thebest-selling Jeeps, it was through models like the smallerRenegade that Fiat Chrysler hopes to expand the brand outsideNorth America.
Manley has said the small-size SUV market will grow to 2million vehicles worldwide by the end of 2015.
In China, Manley said, the first Jeep Cherokee models are ontrack to be produced there by the end of 2015.
Jeep has about 240 dealers in China, and 360 Fiat dealers
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