Jeep All-in on ‘Freedom of Choice’ for New Model Era

Jeep is expanding its powertrain options for customers, allowing them to choose their power and emissions levels based on wants and needs, bringing a “something for everyone” approach to dealerships across America.

The newest premium SUV in the company’s lineup, the Wagoneer S, is a battery-electric model, running purely on electrons. Unlike previous modern Wagoneers, it will be known as a Jeep, marking the merge of the brands.

In the coming years, Jeep plans to offer six powertrain options across its Wagoneer lineup.

The two-row Wagoneer S will debut with 600 horsepower and an all-electric range of more than 300 miles this autumn. The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition, the most expensive of the bunch, has a starting manufacturers suggested retail price $71,995 and is on sale now.

The Jeep brand has looked smart while tiptoeing into the electric era with this family SUV given the latest sales trends.

The brand is still a global champion of hybrids and its 4xe plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEVs) models that have been consistently good sellers. The United States gets the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler 4xe PHEVs, while other global markets are offered electrified Renegades and Compasses.

“While the Stellantis brands have been slower in entering the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market than many automakers, it’s important to remember that the BEV market is still in its early stages. As the BEV market matures, the initial entry product timing will be a footnote. The transition to BEVs will be a marathon, not a sprint, and long-term success will depend on sustained innovation and performance,” Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific told Newsweek.

“Regardless, Jeep’s promise to grow hybrid and plug-in hybrid offerings across the portfolio is more meaningful in addressing where the market is today,” he said.

With new CEO Antonio Filosa in charge of the brand, Jeep has cut prices, added content and spent more on marketing and advertising than it had in previous years, leading to improved sales across the board and a higher percentage of sales for its hybrids, which was one of his goals.

“In the automotive industry, expected is very rare. You cannot build a solid expectation of the market because the market is so competitive and volatile. With a global brand, there’s even more. The evolution of trends and technology is hard to predict too, as we’ve seen. Sometimes they accelerate and sometimes they slide,” Antonio Filosa, CEO of Jeep told Newsweek.

“I’ve come to Jeep now, but I was on the board for many years, so I participated in those important decisions. Three, four years ago we understood that to be versatile and flexible [with our powertrains] is good. [Stellantis CEO] Carlos Tavares came and confirmed that, and put in the plan,” he said.

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S will be versatile, and it will do many of the things a Jeep Wrangler can do. Besides full-time four-wheel drive, the luxury EV will feature drive Selec-Terrain driving modes for on and off road along with 6.4 inches of ground clearance and approach and departure angles of 19.2 and 23.4 degrees, respectively.

Jeep’s off-roading lineage runs deep and is a recognized favorable attribute for modern buyers. So, it is a curious choice to introduce a luxury vehicle as its first North American SUV, as opposed to something more off-road focused, the brand acknowledged. Filosa explained that the Jeep brand of today likes to do the unpredicted.

“We needed to decide the sequence, because we have three models on the same platform out of the same plant. So it is very important to phase them in. But the decision was driven by the unexpected. A Jeep Wagoneer S is regarded as the most unexpected Jeep that can come out of that platform. It is very sleek and very fast,” said Filosa.

“So, there was the surprise factor, but we also believe that this will be the most conquering option, because it will also offer a lot of things to new consumers. It will be faster than the others in the class, have a longer range than its competitors, more screen inches,” he said.

Wagoneer S will compete directly with the Rivian R1S at $74,900 (Wagoneer S prices will dip into the $60,000 range as less-contented models debut) along with the Cadillac Lyriq at $57,195 and the Mercedes EQE SUV at $77,900. The R1S is the only three-row SUV of the lot.

It will be the most off-road focused of the group with more than eight decades of experience in tackling trails. Many BEVs can go off road, often performing better than their gasoline counterparts.

What is Compass Viewpoint?

Jeep Playing It Safe, Not Stupid

The Jeep brand came of age decades ago. In its current form, the brand’s models are designed to align with many modern customer wants and needs. However, as the vehicles’ appointments and prowess have been upgraded over the last half-decade, price points have risen. The new leadership at Jeep, with a direct line from North America straight to overseas Stellantis executives, is positioning the company to continue to remain relevant despite recent sales dips.

“With electric propulsion, the system becomes more precise and due to instant torque we can do things that are not possible with traditional internal combustion engine systems. Is this better? It varies from product to product,” Ned Curic, Chief Technology Officer of Stellantis told Newsweek.

“The pros and cons depend on the situation and workload. For instance, the Wrangler 4xe is the most capable Wrangler ever, because if you are going rock-crawling, the availability of instant torque is advantageous.”

Electric motors offer all of their torque instantly, as opposed to a gasoline engine that needs to get up to speed to offer maximum twist.

“Jeep’s Wagoneer S is an impressive product with competitive figures. Still, a strong product does not guarantee success; it will face significant challenges to gain visibility in the market, given the intense competition already present or entering this premium EV space, not to mention the more affordable EV options that are starting to arrive on the market,” said Waatti.

Less expensive electric Wagoneers will go on sale later this year and next, and by the end of next year buyers will have all sorts of options to motivate the two- or three-row SUV (in the case of the Grand Wagoneer), with electrons, gasoline or a mix of both.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.