Coronavirus impact: FCA India launches online retailing for Jeep

Prospective customers can book and own a Jeep online without having to physically visit a showroom, and will enjoy the convenience of a test drive and sanitised vehicle delivery at their doorstep, the company said in a statement.

PTI

May 02, 2020 / 13:25 IST

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India on Saturday announced the launch of its online 'touch-free' Jeep retail experience in response to continued movement restrictions and social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prospective customers can book and own a Jeep online without having to physically visit a showroom, and will enjoy the convenience of a test drive and sanitised vehicle delivery at their doorstep, the company said in a statement.

FCA India President and Managing Director Partha Datta said, "Our commitment is to ensure customers can still continue to access Jeep at their fingertips. To ensure health, safety and convenience, we are making the Jeep retail experience as touch-free as possible."

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The online booking is being dovetailed into a 360-degree digital retail architecture that will deliver easy-to-use experience for customers and prospective customers can book and own a Jeep without leaving the safety of their homes, he added.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

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There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

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Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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