At the beginning of next year, Jeep will launch a small city SUV. It is the first all-electric car from the US SUV brand. After that, more Stromer are to follow – on platforms of the European mother Stellantis.
In the auto industry, Jeep is one of the few brands that only sells SUVs and SUVs. Their fan base is at least as loyal as Land Rover’s. Jeep has the aura of freedom, outdoors and adventure. The brand is in particularly high demand on the American continent. In Germany it is logically much smaller. Last year Jeep sold 13,503 vehicles here, the market share is currently a modest 0.6 percent. The bestseller is the Compass model, the second generation of which has been on the market since 2016.
In terms of the life cycle, Jeep would have to present a successor by 2024 at the latest. But Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, to which Jeep has belonged since early 2021, is very reluctant to make future plans for the US brand. Under the marketing motto “Dare Forward 2030”, the only communication is that Jeep wants to sell 70 percent of its range as electrified vehicles worldwide by 2025 and that its first fully electric model will be launched in Europe at the beginning of 2023.
This is a city SUV in the A segment, with a chic design and very harmonious proportions. However, what is hidden under the pretty shell, Jeep is silent about – and eagerly feeds speculation. There is also no name yet.
It is often read that the mini-SUV will use the further developed CMP architecture from PSA as the technical basis and will thus use components that are also found under the Opel Corsa/Mokka and Peugeot 208/2008. This would undoubtedly make sense. Especially since the question arises: will the smallest jeep in Europe only be available electrically or, like its group brothers, with conventional drive? At least there is an answer to the production site. Tichy, the Polish main plant for the conventional Fiat 500, was chosen for the Jeep. Production is scheduled to start there at the end of this year.
Stellantis is currently having completely new electrical architectures developed, STLA Small, Medium and Large. However, the STLA Small is not expected until 2025. Therefore, not only the mini jeep, but also other electric compact models from various Stellantis brands should still be based on existing platforms in the first generation. This will probably also include the next Jeep Renegade, which is long overdue to be replaced due to its age. The Renegade has been around since 2014. It is built by Fiat in Melfi. It is easy to imagine that Jeep will also come up with this model around 2024. You would then be represented with three electric SUVs in the A and B segments.
Number four could be the next Cherokee. The name has been inextricably linked to the brand for decades. In Europe, however, the model was phased out at the end of 2021. Why not revive him in 2025 and put him on the then safely developed STLA medium platform? Stellantis promises electric ranges of up to 700 kilometers for them.
The Jeep strategists are likely to be a little concerned about the future when it comes to the plug-in hybrid drive. The SUV brand has consistently switched here and electrified the Renegade, Compass, Wrangler and the brand new Grand Cherokee (market launch in autumn 2022) accordingly.
From next year, however, state subsidies for part-time electric vehicles will no longer apply. It is hoped at Jeep that at least the company car tax will remain at the previous 0.5 percent. Otherwise, this would hit sales of the particularly high-margin Wrangler and Grand Cherokee models badly.
