Will the Jeep Meridian be launched by Stellantis in Malaysia?
The Stellantis automotive group is expanding its reach in India with the Jeep brand. Last week on Monday they made an announcement that they will launch its 7-seater SUV, called ‘Meridian’ sometime in the middle of this year in the country.
This will be a ‘Made in India‘ Jeep and will carry an all new name ‘Meridian’ and it will be the company’s first 7-seater SUV offering in the country. This new people mover all wheel drive Jeep represents an important brand commitment to the Indian market, the company said in a recent statement.
The Jeep Meridian will look very familiar to some of your Jeep enthusiasts as it is actually the current Jeep Compass with a 3rd row seat.
This will probably be Jeep’s next model for Indonesia where Jeep is doing really well and consumers love 7 seat 4×4 vehicles.
Designed to tackle a growing segment that is dominated by the Toyota Fortuner and Isuzu M-UX, the Meridian will be priced competitively
Stellantis India CEO & Managing Director Roland Bouchara said the journey of the Jeep brand, globally recognized for its capable SUVs, in India has been “legendary” and the company hopes to build on this with Jeep Meridian.
“Developed specifically for the Indian customer, we have delivered a sophisticated and capable SUV ready to harness a unique segment opportunity,” he added.
Stating that the company’s product offensive for 2022 and beyond will continue to illustrate its commitment to India as it towards strengthening market presence, Bouchara said, “The Jeep Meridian will further push the brand’s attractiveness and transform the product portfolio for the Indian market.”
Jeep India Head Nipun J Mahajan said the company has tested the SUV on every kind of terrain in India by taking it on a journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, covering a distance of more than 5,000 kilomteres testing its performance, on various parameters of build quality, engineering and capability.
The Jeep Meridian will be launched in India in a few months with local specifications and pricing being announced closer to launch, the company added.
Jeep India currently is enjoying growing interest year on year and in 2021 they delivered more than 11,600 units which represents a 123 percent rise in sales from the year before, 2020 (which is also higher than BMW at 8,236, Volvo at just 1,724 and Audi at just 3,300 cars in India). Only two Jeep models are on sale in India which is the iconic Wrangler and the Compass.
