General Motors rival Stellantis has announced it will launch a range of new all-electric Jeep models. The new electric Jeep vehicles will compete with General Motors’ upcoming range of EVs, which will utilize GM’s Ultium batteries and motors.
Pushing its vision for “Zero Emission Freedom,” Jeep says it plans to launch a fully electric Jeep model in “every SUV segment” by 2025. Those plans include an all-electric Jeep Wagoneer models. What’s more, the automaker says that 70 percent of Jeep sales will be electrified by the 2025 calendar year.
The current Jeep vehicle lineup includes the Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Compass, Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Renegade, and Jeep Wrangler. The announcement also included a look at the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, the brand’s upcoming plug-in hybrid, which is expected to sport the same gas-electric powertrain as the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe, with a combined 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque.
“Four by E is Jeep brand’s exclusive electrification approach to develop the most capable and sustainable four-wheel drive vehicles in the world,” says Jeep Brand CEO Christian Meunier.
Among the benefits promised are enhanced capability thanks to on-demand torque, as well as enhanced enjoyment of the natural world thanks to silent-running all-electric powertrains. The new range of electric Jeeps also promise new styling possibilities, as well as more cargo and passenger room.
“Four by E is good for Jeep,” Meunier says. “It’s good for the Jeep community, and, more importantly, it’s good for the planet.”
Notably, Jeep also has plans to install a series of solar charger stations near off-roading trails to bring electric power directly to off-roading enthusiasts.
Included in the announcement was a look ahead for the off-roading brand, with a list of possible features for the upcoming range of electric Jeep models, including biometric facial recognition, peer-to-peer charging, drone pairing, and autonomous driving capabilities.
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Comments
The Wrangler 4xE will do 21 miles on electric only. Off-roading, that electric power will be used by the time you get to the trail. Ultimately there are huge compromises to this wrangler due to retrofitting a battery to this platform. Oh, and it starts at $49k. Seems like another overpriced jeep with little benefit.
All the other models jeep is suggesting they’ll electrify by 2025 will be retrofits to existing platforms and will have similar compromises. Expect overpriced, short distance abilities on all these models.
The next Ram will be the first US model on a dedicated electrical platform. The question is, will they produce gas models on a different platform such as dragging out the current Ram another 15 years or will they shift it to 100% electric production. I’d guess it all depends on how much Jeep/Ram has to say in the new company or do the French have all the power.
>> Off-roading, that electric power will be used by the time you get to the trail.
My understanding from the reviews, is that you can select when to use, and even when to recharge from the onboard motor, which is kind of cool. So no, you aren’t out of the power “by the time you get to the trail” unless you purposely use it.
It’s also my understanding from the reviews and forum posts, that it gets pretty terrible mileage compared to the 3.6 and even the normal 2.0L mild hybrid that’s been out there since 2018. So overall, it doesn’t really make sense to me unless you have some really good reason to be driving on battery for 20 miles.
>> Seems like another overpriced jeep with little benefit.
That’s because nobody needs an off-road vehicle at all. They are all toys, or just rugged fantasies being sold to people. But look at how popular they are and how everyone wants some sort of SUV. Jeep is in the business of making money, and business has been quite good.
I guess that’s cool if you can control when to use electric. But if you buy this, wouldn’t you use it first so you can save on gas?
The recharge time on these are also pretty extensive. 12 hours with normal plug in. 2 hours if you have a special charger. Wouldn’t fully charge overnight if you just plugged it into the wall.
The only way you would save on gas would be if you’re one of those people who supposedly only drives a few miles each day.
What I’ve mostly heard is that people want to drive out to the trails (or dunes) on gas, then tool around on electric when actually off-roading.
No way are you likely to really save any money by owning one of these.
Nate and GMC Fan: If I may, I’d like to give my thoughts. As many on here already know, I work at a Volvo and Mazda store. Volvo is pushing hard on the all electric or PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). I currently lease an S60 T8 (PHEV) and I also own a Cadillac CT4. In the past, I’ve leased a 2015 all electric Chevy Spark. I say all that for others to know that I actually train on this stuff and drive them.
You are both actually correct above in your first two posts. The Jeep’s system is nearly identical to the system in my S60, so I can share my personal experiences. Overall, the PHEV is only good for someone who drives about 10 miles or less ONE WAY or up to about 20 miles one way if you can charge both at work and home. My car has a max range of 25 miles on pure electric and I do charge both at home and work. It’s the only way for it to make sense. Otherwise, the PHEV is just useless. It’s no good as a traditional hybrid. It’s a total gas hog once the electric runs out (remember, these things are very heavy). My take is that these companies should either go big (all electric) or go home. But the reason they are tip-toeing around with the PHEV’s is because of the consumer who doesn’t know enough about them and the huge misunderstanding with them. On top of that, the PHEV gives people the “feel good” that I have an electric (sort of) car but with the security of being able to drive across country without having to charge. Yet the reality is that almost nobody jumps in their vehicle and drives more than 200 miles at one time.
IMO, the real need is for these companies to come out with all electrics with ranges of 250 to 300 miles, better train the sales staff about them, better educate the buying public and then figure out how to get this electricity to the cars through renewable sources like solar and wind. Just my thoughts.
Honestly, I’d love a PHEV with an 80-100 mile EV range. Even if the ICE was wimpy and under-powered, but just enough to keep it rolling down the highway.
That would be the best of both worlds to me. Anything with less range than that may as well not be electric at all.
Nate: Agree 100%. I’m one of those who like to know that I could jump in my car and just go without scheduling where I will need to stop and charge. Yet I seldom do anything close to that. However, like you, I really (REALLY) wish we had PHEV’s with that 80-100 mile range. That would be perfect. I know how tiring it’s getting for me to plan and keep charging my car in order to try and take advantage of the electric. Yet it just doesn’t seem worth it and thus why so many electric drivers end up going back to ICE on the next vehicle. If I could charge and then drive my S60 back and forth to work for 3 days before charging again, I would feel much more positive about it.
Sadly, I think GM messed up huge when they killed off the Volt. They should have expanded it to more models and made an honest attempt to increase the range from around 53 to 80+. I can say 100% for certain that if GM still offered the Volt, I would be driving one of those instead of the S60.
Watered down Voltec tech, 10 years later.
I’ve driven Wranglers for 20 years and none have left us stranded. They can plow, tow and be great “grocery getters” able to survive the parking lot door-dingers. Who decides who needs what, anyway? A Wrangler can go off-road, it’s appeal certainly, but it’s also great in bad weather and fun in nice weather with doors/top off. How many SUV convertibles are there like Wrangler and Bronco? Or will this devolve into “Nobody needs a convertible” retort? Looking at insurance medical claims, a Wrangler is safer, too, than most other vehicles. FWIW, we also own two Teslas (X and 3) in addition to our latest Wrangler, a 4xe.
At the center of the “EV Day” was the presentation of 4 EV only platforms, all called STLA, and differentiated as STLA Small, STLA Medium, STLA Large, and STLA Frame.
STLA Frame is especially for full size pickups, and maybe some other special cars (I would think of panel vans like the RAM ProMaster, but that seems not to be a target).
As you will have guessed, STLA Frame is for body-on-frame architectures, the other for Unibody ones.
STLA Large and STLA Frame should support ranges of up to 800 km (Kilometers, 1 mile is about 1.6 km).
»I’d guess it all depends on how much Jeep/Ram has to say « — well, it is one single company, with one central leadership team. But there are directors for the various brands, and these are installed by the central leadership. But they lead the development of vehicles specific to their brands.
Europe.automotivenews.com published on May 27 an article “Stellantis finalizes its engineering leadership as FCA and PSA brands merge technologies” (behind a pay wall, but when you mark and copy fast enough, you can get the text) where they detail the vertical and horizontal lines structuring the overall technical development, by global core engineering functions on the one hand, by product segments, and by technical centers (3 groups in Europe: southern Europe i.e. Italy, western Europe, i.e. France, central Europe, i.e. Opel, the former GM subsidiary, then USA and — is there somebody developing in South America?
CEO Tavares has given each brand 10 years to prove themselves, what concerns mostly the 3 brands marked as “premium”, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and DS; although it might also apply to Dodge and especially Chrysler.
I watch it with a wait and see attitude. I am a little sceptical regarding the ALL EV strategy, since I would want to charge the batteries of mobile devices, and a BEV is one of those, over night when I certainly do not use it, and then expect to have a fully charged mobile device at the beginning of the new day. But I live in an appartment. I could not hang out the charge cable out of my window over the sidewalk to the car, if at all I get a parking spot in front of my windows. So I see that there will come a saturation of the market one day.
There might also be a glut in battery factories. PSA had planned two battery factories, one in France, the other in Germany. Now the Italian government has pushed Stellantis to build also one in Italy (converting a current engine factory in Termoly on the Adria). Most other automobile manufacturers, including GM, are building their own battery factories. I fear that this will result in an overcapacity, forcing one or the other to close their down. But that is capitalism: each and everybody tries to get the largest share of the market, and by working everybody against everybody else, they are bound to produce overcapacity, i.e. the next crisis. A few days ago I saw a report on bicycle graveyards in China: about 20 companies in the rent-a-bike industry compete against each other, each of them is putting masses of rental bikes in the cities, but once in a while, and more often than not, one of them goes bust, and can’t remove their bikes from the sidewalks any more. The city administration has no choice but to take those bikes and throw them in junk yards. Initially there have been about 70 such companies, but the fierce competition has driven that down to about 20. What a waste is capitalism!
Cheers!
I’m with you on the wait and see. I do think EV is the future and I won’t have a problem shifting. But, there will be one more gas model first. Hopefully in winter there will be some stock on the Sierras and the value on my current truck is still high. Then in 5-7 years I’ll look at BEV as the technology will be far more advanced.
The RAM is one of the pillars of Stellantis’ portfolio. I am sure you will see gasoline models of it for decades to come.
Coming from a dying car company, this is just a noise!
You keep building the same vehicle years after years, and it is always among the worst in the world, nothing of this can be true. , Sorry Chrysler-Dodge. I can not trust you!
Jimmy
You seem to be very confused about the state of the auto industry as a whole and the various manufacturers.
It would be better to refer to the NA group as Ram-Jeep, since that’s what keeps printing them money.
Got to get that stock market money! Cause these sure ain’t going to be making any! I mean really. I have the EV hype. The SUV was supposed to be dead in 2004, and now most companies sell few if any sedans. What do these makers know about the future? Do they know enough to actually make a profit? Barely by the skin of their teeth. What is going to happen when more people buy EV’s just to find they are mostly hype? That instant torque is a load of Bull@@@. If you want instant torque, brake torque your torque converter. My Silverado in 4wL puts out more ground torque than the hummer EV. Also, EV’s aren’t subject to the same stringent SAE standards ICE engines are. The model S plaid for it’s full power output needs to sit and Do a self cooling cycle for 15 minutes to achieve it’s total max output. Hotrod mag. does dybos with strait junkyards engines and most dynos show that modern V8’s making as much as 20% more power than rated by SAE beacause SAE ratings are lawyer proof and has an engine performance rated on a hot road at a higher altitude with the engine having worked hard for a half hour already. Your C8 right off the line from being parked at only 800 above sea level is making in the neighborhood of 600 hp, 600tq. And even at SAE tests, each engine varies and most will beat the rating. I don’t see anything in the future that will make EV’s superior to ICE engines.
Stellantis will produce popular EV Jeeps because Jeep will always be popular, and at this rate EV technology is becoming wide spread whether it be Tesla, Audi, Volvo/Polestar/ Mustang Mach-E. GM is squandering it’s leadership.
GM was one of the first to develop great technology, they spent a fortune, but have yet to really utilize it outside of Bolt and the feature-packed upcoming Hummer.
GM refuses to risk margins or get ahead of the EV curve in the US after dumping billions into research. For Jeep this will cost significantly less because Jeep (& the other Stellantis brands) MUST abide by EU regulations if they want to participate in the market. This is also what will make the Dodge muscle EV possible seeing as it will double as a flag ship Opel.
Leaving Europe slowed GM’s EV progress. Untium is great but will be outdated by the time it’s wildly adapted.