Jeep Brand Might Be Sold By Parent Automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

In what could be a huge disruption for the Jeep brand in India and across the world, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne recently admitted that the group was considering selling off the Jeep and Ram brands. The comment was made at a press conference call, which was held to discuss the FCA financial earnings from the first quarter of 2017 which have been much better than originally anticipated. When asked if FCA would consider selling Jeep and Ram by a representative of the Press, Marchionne answered in one word 'Yes'. Surprisingly, this comment comes at a time when Jeep is one of FCA's crown jewels and is driving the growth both financially and in terms of brand new models.

Jeep, the first automaker to really explore the lucrative SUV segment with the launch of the original Jeep Wagoneer and then with the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee decades ago and is the only real part of FCA that has been constantly bringing new and updated UVs to the market that have a global appeal. In India, Jeep has invested ₹ 1800 Crore at the Fiat factory in Ranjangaon in order to accommodate production of the Jeep Compass. The Indian factory will not just be used to meet demands for the Indian market, which is always SUV hungry, but also be used as a hub for all right hand drive markets around the world including the United Kingdom, South Africa, South East Asia, Japan and Australia.

If sold, FCA would be only left with Dodge and Chrysler in the United States. Coincidentally, neither Dodge nor Chrysler have a SUV in their ranks, a segment that accounts for more than 40% of the American car market. Similarly, Ram, which was made into a new brand altogether after being split from the Dodge group is the only mass-market pickup truck maker in the FCA family and that is another huge hunk of the American car market.