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Antonio Filosa has just taken the reins as Jeep's new CEO, and the brand is already undergoing some major changes. The revisions are meant to make up for recent losses in sales, which have come as a result of considerable upticks in pricing. Naturally, the remedy for this is a set of significant price cuts for select models, along with the abandonment of the luxurious Wagoneer brand.
Prices Come Back Down To Earth
While steady increases in pricing are the norm for any automaker, Jeep has tacked some excessive premiums onto its models in the past decade, and the tradeoff is a 14% decline in sales during that time period. Price cuts by at much as $4,000 on select models are meant to fix that, and the deal is sweetened by even more standard equipment––larger screens, powered and heated seats, and extra trim packages are all in store.
The largest price cuts go towards the Grand Cherokee, which slashes $4,000 off its starting price and now begins at a more reasonable $36,495. Next is the Wrangler, and while its price doesn't visibly drop, it gets an additional $3,000 worth of standard equipment while retaining its starting price of $31,995. The Gladiator pickup does see prices cut by $1,700 with a base price of $38,990, and even in spite of the lower pricing it gets the same extra $3,000 in equipment as the Wrangler SUV.
At the very bottom of the lineup now sits the Compass, following the departure of the smaller Renegade. Luckily, buyers looking for an entry point into the Jeep brand will now be able to pick up the larger Compass for a price that drops by as much as $2,500. That means the Compass now opens up at $25,900, bringing it on par with other value-centric rivals while still offering plenty of standard features.
"Inflation was such a big negative hit for families and people here in the U.S., we needed to do something," Filosa told the press. "We need to do something on market penetration and market share, because it’s not where this brand deserves to be."
More New Models Are On The Way
The midsize Jeep Wagoneer S EV is due later in 2024.
Cheaper price tags aren't the only revision to come under the leadership of Filosa. He also says to look for new Jeep models to make their way to showrooms in the near future, which includes everything from a replacement for the recently-discontinued Cherokee to more variants of existing models. Most notably, Jeep will continue to fulfill its goal of offering some sort of electrified version of every model, which means we'll be seeing the plug-in hybrid 4xe badge appear on even more Jeep offerings soon.
The rollout of completely new models will begin with the fully-electric Jeep Wagoneer S later this year. When it comes to dealers in the second half of 2024, it will ride on the STLA Large electric architecture from Stellantis, enabling it to make 600 hp and beat every Jeep in history to the 60-mph mark (it will only take around 3.5 seconds). The Wagoneer S will then be joined by a second EV known as the Recon, expected either at the end of this year or in early 2025. It will be far more comparable to Jeep's traditional models, offering enough off-road capability to make it a sort of electric alternative to the Wrangler––that is, before a true Wrangler EV arrives later on.
The rugged Jeep Recon EV should arrive closer to 2025.
What's more, Filosa recently expressed interest in using range extenders for its EVs while speaking with Gear Junkie. The use of this technology by Stellantis first debuted on Ram's fascinating 1500 Ramcharger pickup, and it uses a small gas-powered engine to juice up the electric battery, while the motors continue to send full power the wheels just like in a traditional EV. You could call it a reverse plug-in hybrid––those are built around a regular combustion engine that's assisted by electric motors––as it delivers the full EV experience while also offering range that's on par with traditional ICE vehicles. Keep in mind that Filosa only brought this up as an idea, and any use of this powertrain in a Jeep model would still be years away.
The Wagoneer Brand Is No More
Considering Filosa's move to bring Jeep's pricing back down to non-luxury levels, it doesn't really come as a surprise to see that the rather short-lived Wagoneer brand is being abandoned. While the full-sized Wagoneer and its extra-posh Grand Wagoneer counterpart aren't going away, all Wagoneer-badged models going forward will now adopt Jeep branding. When these models first debuted in 2022, Jeep treated them like a separate brand, but that will no longer be the case.
Image Credits: Jeep
Report
Mar 6, 2024
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Jeep Cuts Prices, Adds More Equipment Following Sudden Drops In Sales
Jeep is also cancelling its upscale Wagoneer brand.
Antonio Filosa has just taken the reins as Jeep's new CEO, and the brand is already undergoing some major changes. The revisions are meant to make up for recent losses in sales, which have come as a result of considerable upticks in pricing. Naturally, the remedy for this is a set of significant price cuts for select models, along with the abandonment of the luxurious Wagoneer brand.
Prices Come Back Down To Earth
While steady increases in pricing are the norm for any automaker, Jeep has tacked some excessive premiums onto its models in the past decade, and the tradeoff is a 14% decline in sales during that time period. Price cuts by at much as $4,000 on select models are meant to fix that, and the deal is sweetened by even more standard equipment––larger screens, powered and heated seats, and extra trim packages are all in store.
The largest price cuts go towards the Grand Cherokee, which slashes $4,000 off its starting price and now begins at a more reasonable $36,495. Next is the Wrangler, and while its price doesn't visibly drop, it gets an additional $3,000 worth of standard equipment while retaining its starting price of $31,995. The Gladiator pickup does see prices cut by $1,700 with a base price of $38,990, and even in spite of the lower pricing it gets the same extra $3,000 in equipment as the Wrangler SUV.
At the very bottom of the lineup now sits the Compass, following the departure of the smaller Renegade. Luckily, buyers looking for an entry point into the Jeep brand will now be able to pick up the larger Compass for a price that drops by as much as $2,500. That means the Compass now opens up at $25,900, bringing it on par with other value-centric rivals while still offering plenty of standard features.
"Inflation was such a big negative hit for families and people here in the U.S., we needed to do something," Filosa told the press. "We need to do something on market penetration and market share, because it’s not where this brand deserves to be."
More New Models Are On The Way
The midsize Jeep Wagoneer S EV is due later in 2024.
Cheaper price tags aren't the only revision to come under the leadership of Filosa. He also says to look for new Jeep models to make their way to showrooms in the near future, which includes everything from a replacement for the recently-discontinued Cherokee to more variants of existing models. Most notably, Jeep will continue to fulfill its goal of offering some sort of electrified version of every model, which means we'll be seeing the plug-in hybrid 4xe badge appear on even more Jeep offerings soon.
The rollout of completely new models will begin with the fully-electric Jeep Wagoneer S later this year. When it comes to dealers in the second half of 2024, it will ride on the STLA Large electric architecture from Stellantis, enabling it to make 600 hp and beat every Jeep in history to the 60-mph mark (it will only take around 3.5 seconds). The Wagoneer S will then be joined by a second EV known as the Recon, expected either at the end of this year or in early 2025. It will be far more comparable to Jeep's traditional models, offering enough off-road capability to make it a sort of electric alternative to the Wrangler––that is, before a true Wrangler EV arrives later on.
The rugged Jeep Recon EV should arrive closer to 2025.
What's more, Filosa recently expressed interest in using range extenders for its EVs while speaking with Gear Junkie. The use of this technology by Stellantis first debuted on Ram's fascinating 1500 Ramcharger pickup, and it uses a small gas-powered engine to juice up the electric battery, while the motors continue to send full power the wheels just like in a traditional EV. You could call it a reverse plug-in hybrid––those are built around a regular combustion engine that's assisted by electric motors––as it delivers the full EV experience while also offering range that's on par with traditional ICE vehicles. Keep in mind that Filosa only brought this up as an idea, and any use of this powertrain in a Jeep model would still be years away.
The Wagoneer Brand Is No More
Considering Filosa's move to bring Jeep's pricing back down to non-luxury levels, it doesn't really come as a surprise to see that the rather short-lived Wagoneer brand is being abandoned. While the full-sized Wagoneer and its extra-posh Grand Wagoneer counterpart aren't going away, all Wagoneer-badged models going forward will now adopt Jeep branding. When these models first debuted in 2022, Jeep treated them like a separate brand, but that will no longer be the case.
Image Credits: Jeep
