Jeep Renegade spotted testing again. Not coming to India anytime soon

Jeep Renegade has been spotted on test once again. This new compact SUV has done its all India rounds and is now back in Ranjangaon. Our sources state that the Renegade will not be launched in India. Instead, Fiat India has been testing the Renegade to get a feedback on the 2.0-litre multijet engine and the six-speed manual and nine-speed automatic transmissions. This is based on the Small Car Architecture (SCA) and that will be shared with the new Jeep 551. This is the new compact SUV that will make its global debut in India.

Jeep will be manufacturing this compact SUV in Fiat’s Ranjangaon plant and it will be exporting to other markets too. Jeep will be using the Indian plant as its new export hub. Fiat India will be launching at exporting the Renegade to Europe and even other developing markets as well.

The Jeep 551 will be coming with a 1.5-litre diesel engine for India and while the export markets will be the 2.0-litre diesel. This new Jeep will be smaller than the Renegade. Whereas for the Renegade there is still some time before it comes to India. This new compact SUV will be priced close to the Duster/Creta. Tata Motors is also working on a SUV in this segment, but that won’t be launched before 2018.

Jeep’s plan for India is to launch the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee in India and then next is the Jeep 551. This way the brand will have three launches by 2017. The Renegade won’t come in anytime before 2018 if it is to be launched. The SCA platform has already been localised and Fiat will work out a product strategy for its new-generation Punto and Linea. These will also be made on a hybrid SCA platform. The bigger multijet and MultiAir engines are being tested in Ranjangaon. The work force of the R&D centre has increased from just 30 in 2010 to about 700 at the moment. Fiat and Chrysler are testing and developing a lot of new products and are looking at not just the Indian market but other developing markets too. Atul spotted the same Renegade in Pune which was spotted early in North India.