The Dutch-headquartered Stellantis Group, the new entity after the merger of French automaker PSA Group and Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, eyes a long term play in the Indian passenger vehicle market. The group, which sells Jeep and Citroen brands of vehicles in India, has so far invested about $1 billion in the country. With two software development centres, two R&D centres and three manufacturing units, the group has built a good foundation in India. Its Jeep brand which started operations in 2016 has just unveiled its three-row SUV Jeep Meridian, packed with safety and other features. Roland Bouchara, CEO & Managing Director for Stellantis in India, spoke to BusinessLine during a recent drive event of Jeep Meridian, about the Jeep’s product strategy, the Indian market and the group’s growth plans. Excerpts:

Tell us about the growth of the Jeep brand in India?

Jeep was in India earlier, too. Where the brand in India is concerned, it is a very good story. We have more than 60,000 owners in India. The brand is iconic and was well known before Jeep introduced it in India, unlike Citroen which isnt known here. Jeep is now focusing on C and D segment SUVs. Under Jeep, we have Compass and Wrangler, and are now launching Meridian. We are going to launch five products in next two years and we won’t stop there as Jeep carries a good image in India.

What are the group’s key focus areas in India?

India has a very young population with 64% below 35 years, and we have the middle class which is growing every year. The Indian PV market is expected to reach 5 million within the next 5-6 years. Indian buyers are looking for something to upgrade all the time. A key factors to be a successful brand in India is to be able to provide something fresh and new every year, a gap of 2-3 years between product launches will not help. We have two iconic brands for the Indian market—Jeep and Citroen—and the group’s ambition is to develop them with significant volumes . Our ambition is to be a key player in every segment where we have a presence.

What is your strategy to stay competitive in India?

There are more than 26 OEMs in India, but just a few are profitable. Look at what happened to a few other brands. So, the key learning is to have the right product portfolio. For Citroen, we are offering fresh products, with more than 80 per cent localisation. In the case of Jeep, India is the only country after the US to manufacture 4 models. We have a strong footprint with all necessary fundamentals for a brand–investment in new products, software development centres, R&D facilities and manufacturing units. Also, one needs to have a very local content to be competitive and affordable in India. Look at us, we launch our products with about 80 per cent plus localisation and it will increase as we move forward. The upcoming all-new Citroën C3 will be fully developed and produced in India. At the end of the day, whatever the market you are in – India, China or Africa, people want an attractive car with good value for money.

How strong is your distribution network?

For Jeep, we have so far our 65 dealers located across key markets. It will be easy to say that we will double the network, but, we have a clear strategy here. Sustaining quality is key in this business. Also, we want to ensure the break-even point at the lowest possible time to enable them to invest in digitisation which is crucial to meet customer requirements. All Jeep dealers are making profits and we hope for more with the new Meridian. In the case of Citroen, which is relatively a young brand in India, we are expanding the network to get ready for the new C3– a modern hatchback to be launched this year. We will have more than 20 dealers during the launch of C3.

What are Stellantis Group’s near term targets?

Our mission in India is to grow. As I said, we have a very good foundation and a strong pipeline of products here. . We will have an India-centric approach in our product strategy. For eg., Citroen’s new C-cubed platform, which will roll out the upcoming new C3 and other products every year for the next few years, has been developed in India as per Indian requirements. The new Jeep Meridian too has Indian work in it. As I said our ambition is to develop products in India for India to secure a significant presence in each segment where we will be present. But the growth must be sustainable from the profit point of view to enable us to reinvest in new technology and associated areas.

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