Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares claimed during Jeep's 2021 earnings presentation that electrification would amplify the brand's core attributes. Jeep is well on its way towards achieving that goal, with the automaker revealing on Tuesday, March 1, the design of its first fully-electric model.
Jeep has high hopes for this electric vehicle, which it plans to launch in Europe in the first half of 2023. Releasing this EV early next year puts Stellantis' long-term strategy to sell only fully-electric vehicles in Europe by the year 2026 right on schedule.
Jeep has been slower with its shift to electrification compared to many of its rival automakers. Jeep has managed to release already plug-in hybrid versions of its luxury Grand Cherokee and Wrangler SUVs.
Jeep's upcoming SUV is a game-changer, as it is the car brand's first purely battery-electric vehicle. Jeep is ramping up its electrification plans, with the company announcing last year that it will have zero-emission SUVs in every category of its lineup by the year 2025.
As part of the directive of parent group Stellantis, Jeep will release electric versions of the Wrangler, Cherokee, and Wagoneer in the coming years. The focus right now is on the yet unnamed Jeep. The automaker teased images of the electric SUV, sending Jeep fans into a frenzy.
The company is keeping the vehicle under wraps as it refused to share any other details of the electric SUV apart from the images and its target launch date. This electric SUV is expected to sit below Jeep's Renegade model in terms of size. This electric model will be different from Jeep vehicles in the past because it will have a shallower, more aerodynamic windscreen.
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In an interview recently, Mark Allen, who is Jeep's head of exterior design, told Auto Express that a possible range expansion is in the cards for the company with electrification plans already underway. He said that Jeep is looking at every segment possible, from extending beyond the Wagoneer at the top and the Renegade at the bottom end.
According to Allen, the more probable scenario for Jeep is to expand its range of models below the Renegade, which he describes as a B-segment. The baby electric Jeep could be utilizing the Stellantis e-CMP platform, which the group uses in similarly sized cars like Vauxhall's Corsa and Corsa e models and the Peugeot 208/e-208 and 2008/e-2008 variants.
With Jeep launching the new model next year, it is too early to suggest if the SUV will be using Stellantis's new electric technology that the company unveiled on its EV day last year. Stellantis' much-awaited all-electric STLA Small platform won't be ready until 2026. That platform's arrival cannot come soon enough as it can accommodate four-wheel drive with electric motors on both axles.
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