Jeep To Launch Three New SUVs In India, Meridian Coming In May

The Jeep Meridian and Grand Cherokee would be built at the Ranjangaon joint venture manufacturing facility

Jeep Grand Cherokee (Image: Somnath Chatterjee)

New Delhi: Jeep India will launch no less than three new SUVs this year and that includes two all new SUVs along with the return of the Compass Trailhawk.

The Meridian is probably the most important of them all being an all new 4x4 targeted at the three row SUV segment. Jeep today released an official image of the SUV and it is long while still packing the typical Jeep styling.

Crucially, the Jeep Meridian and Grand Cherokee would be built at the Ranjangaon joint venture manufacturing facility with the Meridian expected to have a high localization level of over 80 percent that will mean competitive pricing for sure.

Jeep has also revealed that it will have first in its segment independent front and rear suspension while the powertrain at start is expected to be the 2.0l diesel seen in the Compass but with more power.

There would be two trims on offer and a petrol engine might join the range later. The production of the Meridian would start from May while the launch is also expected to be within the similar timelines.

The other new SUV is the new generation Made-in-India Jeep Grand Cherokee. Like the Wrangler, India would be the only market in the world outside North America where the all-new Grand Cherokee is locally assembled.

This is their flagship luxury SUV and would be its most premium SUV for India. It will have a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol powertrain along with an 8-speed automatic transmission while Quadra-Trac I 4x4 system and Selec-Terrain traction management system would also be there of course.

First though, the Jeep Compass Trailhawk would be launched as a more off-road focused version of the Compass. It will be more tuned for off-road with Factory lift suspension, standard four metallic skid plates and a Standard Jeep Active Drive Low 4x4 20:1 crawl ratio.