Jeep details 2022 roadmap
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 4th Jun 2018
FIAT Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will focus its efforts on expanding Jeep’s line-up over the next five years to take advantage of the market shift towards SUVs while also introducing electrification and greater autonomy to the brand.
Detailed by FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne in Italy, the five-year plan for the off-road brand includes introducing a baby SUV to sit underneath the Renegade, the arrival of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer upper-large SUVs, and some form of electrification across all model lines.
Other new global models will include a new version of the Renegade, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, an updated Compass, two unnamed three-row SUVs to play in the mid- and large-SUV segments, and the long-awaited Jeep pick-up.
Plug-in electrification (PHEV) options will be available across each nameplate by 2021, with 10 PHEVs and four full-electric offerings available by 2022. The four full EVs will be spread across the small-, small-to-mid- and mid-size-SUV segments, with the Renegade, Compass and Cherokee the most likely recipients.
While off-road-focused Trailhawk and performance-oriented Trackhawk model lines already exist within the Jeep brand, a new version, called the Deserthawk, will launch in the first quarter of 2020 with eight desert-specific engineering standards that provide “high-speed sand-running capability”, according to the brand.
Another as-yet-unnamed model line will be unveiled during this time, with its area of focus being ‘ultimate urban capability’, and a car that is fuel efficient, fully connected and offers “stress-free” mobility.
Jeep says the new urban vehicle will still retain the capability that made the brand famous, but will add connectivity and autonomy as areas of capability.
The brand is chasing Level 3 autonomy by 2021 in all its vehicles bar the baby SUV, while all markets will offer some level of connectivity on Jeep vehicles by 2020.
A new ownership program called Jeep Wave will be gradually rolled out over the next five years, a subscription service that will allow users to give a monthly fee to access FCA vehicles, and will be offered in different levels covering insurance, vehicle selection and concierge services.
Jeep Wave will also be able to bring Jeep clubs together, offer over-the-air software updates and use-based insurance schemes, security systems to track stolen vehicles, and programs that score users VIP tickets and meet and greet opportunities for social events.
In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Jeep will drop diesel engines and, over the next five years, will increase capacity by 350 per cent.
China will receive two vehicles specific to its market, and Jeep will aim to expand its reach in the region with the launch of its urban-focused vehicle. Jeep’s production facility in Ranjangaon, India will ramp up its production capacity from the end of 2017.
In its home market, Jeep will look to enter high-margin segments with the Grand Wagoneer, will expand the Jeep Wave and mobility services and will increase local manufacturing capacity.
Globally, the brand hopes to increase its share of SUV sales from one in 17 this year to one in 12 by 2022, and as much as one in five further down the line.
