The first electric Jeep was unveiled during a presentation from parent company Stellantis which also outlined future EV plans. Although the automaker has only released a couple of images, there will still be a wait for details of the electric Jeep, which is slated to debut in 2023. This model will be one of the over 75 100% electric vehicles that Stellantis plans to launch globally by 2030.
The small electric vehicle “is the first in a series of battery electric vehicles launched by Jeep that will cover every SUV segment by 2025”, said Stellantins CEO Carlos Tavares.
These are ambitious goals for a company whose CEO doesn’t seem entirely convinced of the merits of electric vehicles. Indeed Tavares recently stated that electric vehicles cost Stellantis 50% more than internal combustion vehicles, arguing that it is not sustainable. Previously, he also called electric vehicles the choice of politicians, not the auto industry.
According to industry sources, the all-electric Jeep will be built in Poland on a variant of the PSA group’s previous E-CMP platform, which currently underpins Peugeot 208 and 2008, Opel Corsa and Mokka, Citroen C4 and DS3 Crossback. A crossover of the Fiat brand and an Alfa Romeo SUV will also be born from the same platform.
Electric Jeep, the design does not differ much from the heat engine models
The images released by Jeep show the stylistic details already seen in current Jeep models, including the compact SUV Compass, especially the front, and in the Renegade and new Grand Cherokee models.
The front of the SUV has the traditional seven-bar grille and the overall appearance of the vehicle is more that of an urban SUV than an off-road vehicle. It is still unclear whether Jeep will offer all-wheel drive capability with the small Jeep.
The new model, which according to sources it could be called Junior Jeepwould be placed under the current Renegade, which is assembled in the Stellantis plant in Melfi, together with the small Fiat 500X crossover.
Jeep recently revamped its upper segment SUV offering with the launch of the new midsize SUV Grand Cherokee, which has a plug-in hybrid version and will be sold in Europe from the end of the year.
According to Dataforce, the Jeep brand sold 137,824 units in Europe last year, 6.5% more than in 2020. The Renegade was the most popular model with 69,841 sales, followed by the Compass with 57,172.