Jeep’s Upcoming Electric SUVs May Offer Gas-Powered Variant
As Jeep prepares to officially introduce its first fully electric SUV, the Wagoneer S, and launch it in Quebec and B.C. starting this fall, slow EV growth might force the company to offer a gas-powered variant simultaneously.
That’s what new Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa told Automotive News in a recent interview. The same thing could happen with the off-road-oriented Jeep Recon set to arrive a little later.
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With Jeep sales experiencing a significant decline last year and during the first quarter of 2024, the big boss hinted at cheaper, conventionally powered Wagoneer S and Recon models to attract as many customers as possible.
"We need to grab [those opportunities] or somebody else will," Filosa said.
The two electric SUVs will ride on Stellantis’ new STLA Large platform, which can accommodate all kinds of powertrains. Dodge’s next-generation Charger uses the same architecture and will offer both gas and electric variants. In a similar move, the automaker’s smaller electric SUVs in Europe, namely the Jeep Avenger, Alfa Romeo Junior and Fiat 600e, are also available with a combustion engine.
Ironically, Jeep already has a gas-powered Wagoneer, while a battery-less Recon would be awfully similar to the Wrangler. We’ll likely know more when the Wagoneer S makes its debut sometime soon. Remember, Jeep is promising 600 horsepower, 0-100 km/h sprints in about 3.5 seconds and a maximum range in excess of 600 km.
Additionally, Filosa told Automotive News that Jeep will at some point in 2025 return to the compact SUV segment, which is represented by the Compass only since the Cherokee and Renegade have bowed out. Rising Compass sales in the U.S. and Canada clearly show that people still want affordable Jeeps.