Jeep’s first global all-electric SUV will cost $72,000

NEW YORK — The first all-electric Jeep SUV in the U.S. will be the 2024 Wagoneer S, scheduled to go on sale this fall with a starting price of about $72,000.

of StellantisThe American-owned brand announced the vehicle and pricing on Thursday, positioning it as a “new chapter” for the quintessential American SUV brand, which has struggled with domestic sales in recent years.

“This means a lot. This is the first time [all-electric vehicle] “Made in North America, designed in America, built for the world,” Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa told CNBC in an interview after revealing the vehicle. “This is a milestone in the history of our company.”

Filosa, who took over as head of Jeep in December last year, said the brand was in “great shape” but was “in a transition like every modern car brand” with electrification.

Despite the slower-than-expected take-up of EVs in the U.S., Filosa said he’s not worried about consumer adoption because EVs are an addition to Jeep’s lineup: Jeep will continue to offer traditional gasoline-powered SUVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and “extended-range” electric vehicles starting next year.

The Wagoneer S “Launch Edition” will initially be powered by a 400-volt, 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack that will give it a range of more than 300 miles on a single charge, 600 horsepower, 617 pound-feet of torque and a 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds. The company says that using a DC fast charger, it can be charged from 20% to 80% in 23 minutes.

Jeep also unveiled the Trailhawk, an EV off-road capability concept, which Filosa said he hopes will be “in production soon.”

Filosa said the cheaper Wagoneer S model will go on sale about six months after the Launch Edition.

The Wagoneer S EV’s starting price of $71,995 puts it between the gasoline version of the Wagoneer (starting price around $63,000) and the more luxurious Grand Wagoneer (starting price around $92,000).

Jeep also plans to launch a new, unnamed midsize SUV next year to replace the discontinued Cherokee, Filosa said.

He also said the company plans to launch electric, range-extended versions of the traditional gasoline-powered Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer in 2025. The technology, which uses the engine as a gasoline-powered generator in addition to the EV battery, is expected to debut in the upcoming Ram Ramcharger pickup truck.

The Wagoneer S marks the start of the company’s U.S. EV offensive, which Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares announced this week, includes six to eight all-electric vehicles scheduled for release this year.

“There’s a huge opportunity in the U.S. and we’re just beginning our electrification offensive,” Tavares said Wednesday at a Bernstein investor conference.

Jeep plans to follow the Wagoneer S with a Wrangler-inspired off-road vehicle called the Recon later this year, as well as a new EV “soon” for about $25,000, Tavares said Wednesday, without providing details.

Tavares has long said the company is being forced to build EVs, which are 40% more expensive, because of regulatory requirements, not consumer demand. He said Wednesday that EVs are a “cost-cutting measure” to ensure cars are profitable.

EVs mark a change of direction for Jeep in the U.S., where the company has focused on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including its Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs. Plug-in vehicles accounted for 17.5% of Jeep sales this year.

Filosa said Jeep, currently the number one seller of PHEVs in the U.S., expects sales of PHEVs to continue to grow in addition to its upcoming EVs.

“Electrification has gone very well for us so far. We’ve basically built the PHEV industry. We dominate this part of the market,” he said at the launch event.

Stellantis’ total sales of PHEVs in the U.S. last year were about 143,000 units, up 124% compared to 2022. Leading the way in sales was Jeep, which sold 67,429 Jeep Wranglers and 45,684 Jeep Grand Cherokee “4xe” SUVs.

Jeep is using the 4xe badge to represent the brand’s off-road reputation combined with electrification such as EVs and PHEVs.

The company says the Wagoneer S is its first “global” electric vehicle. Jeep’s first electric model, the Avenger, is a small SUV that can be purchased from about 35,000 euros (about $37,800) and was released in Europe last year.

The Wagoneer S, which will be built at a factory in Mexico, is based on Stellantis’ large EV platform and is expected to form the basis of eight vehicles for the automaker between 2024 and 2026.

Despite sharing the same “Wagoneer” name as Jeep’s current gasoline-powered models, the five-seat, two-row EV has little in common with the conventional three-row internal combustion engine vehicle, except for Jeep styling.

The most noticeable exterior difference is a more modern interpretation of the brand’s iconic seven-slot grille, although the EV doesn’t actually need it for cooling: compared to seven separate slots, this grille is recessed, and the slots are tightly interconnected.

“We’ve updated the traditional seven-slot grille,” said Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles. “I’m very proud of it.”

The Wagoneer S also features a large “R-wing” convertible spoiler at the back of the SUV, which Gilles said was a goal to avoid the “jelly bean” look of many of the more aerodynamic EVs currently sold in the U.S.

The company says the Wagoneer S is much less boxy than the gasoline model, making it the most aerodynamic Jeep the brand has ever produced.

Gill said the Wagoneer name refers to the luxury of the vehicle, rather than a single design.

Inside, there are more than 45-inch screens, including a 12.3-inch center display, and the car is finished in a mix of metal, synthetic leather and other sustainable materials.

Gilles, a longtime prominent car designer at the company, said wood has been banned from the interior of the car, and there is no chrome on the SUV’s exterior — decisions made with input from younger designers to make the car more sustainable and appealing to a younger generation of buyers.

“To make this car an environmentally friendly car, we had to rethink the materials inside the car,” Gilles says. “There’s been a big push for sustainable materials everywhere.”