Make In India Map Gets ‘Compass'

Kevin Flynn - President and MD, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India, believes that Jeep Compass will not only turnaround the fortunes of FCA India positively but will also create a big impact on the SUV segment in the country.

- Niranjan Mudholkar

Kevin Flynn, President and MD, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India, is an excited man. And why not? Fiat Chrysler’s global dream project of the all new Jeep Compass has now taken off at the production stage at its Ranjangaon facility in Pune, Maharashtra. The first Jeep Compass rolled out of the Ranjangaon plant on June 1, 2017, driven out by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. And now Kevin and his team are focussed on the market launch of the vehicle scheduled in the third quarter of calendar year 2017. That’s just around the corner and the team is all geared up.

The journey 

Of course, it has not happened overnight. It is a culmination of the hard work of a few years. In fact, Kevin has been part of this journey for over two years ever since he took charge of FCA India in February 2015. And he says his journey has been fascinating. “Actually, it’s been invigorating. I have learnt so much in the past two years. This market is absolutely unique. And to have an opportunity to take on the challenges of the Indian market, I actually count as a privilege. I think it is a test. So it’s been a really brilliant journey so far. For me, the culmination of these two years is bringing together of this Compass project,” he shares. “Introducing some of the new technologies that we have brought to the market place for this car and getting ready to take on the market in India as well as becoming an export hub for the right hand drive markets in itself has been a great journey.”