Jeep’s recently installed CEO Antonio Filosa still has a lot of tough moves ahead of him. His agenda for the brand includes returning to one million annual sales worldwide, finding a marketing approach that attracts hardcore Jeep drivers and casual drivers sniffing around the show floor, improving reliability, improving dealer relationships and tackling one more thing stormier transition to electric vehicles. As for the latter, Jeep will soon launch two battery-electric models, the Wagoneer S this year and then the Recon late this year or early 2025. These are the first products to hit the market here and are based on the STLA Large platform developed by parent company Stellantis.
The Wagoneer S is about the size of the Grand Cherokee, but is likely to be priced in Wagoneer territory, hence the “luxury” designation.
Embodying the spirit of the Wrangler, the Recon has roughly the same dimensions as the Wrangler and even features removable doors and “Trail Rated” badges. The key difference between the two is that the Recon gets the skateboard unibody architecture, while the Wrangler currently has bodywork on the frame and will remain so when it goes electric, and uses Stellantis’ STLA frame platform, which are also the electrified Ram pickups continues. This means the Recon is aimed more at the city dweller who wants to respond to nature’s every call, as opposed to the Wrangler’s obvious nature orientation.
Given the market trends for electric vehicles – still growing market share but not nearly fast enough to justify previous investments – Filosa was asked twice last month about the chances of the Wagoneer S and Recon being equipped with a hybrid powertrain instead of being purely electric. He answered both questioners in the same way Automotive News And Autocar that the Wagoneer S will remain on track as a BEV only. However, the Recon offers some flexibility. Filosa explained Autocar“[While] As we remain true to our core strategy of deep electrification, we can think about opportunities at Recon. “Let’s see: Recon will be built on a platform that is very versatile,” he clarifies: “We are currently studying.” [development on the Recon] and we are just analyzing whether there are options for the future – but so far it is BEV.”
Such a move would also be in line with Filosa’s “freedom of choice” mantra when it comes to powertrains. He said Car News“For us, better means more freedom of choice and the ability to offer our customers a product range with different drive options. What we have now is a full range of offerings that our competitors will likely get later.” It would also be consistent with moves elsewhere in the Stellantis empire. Jeep has equipped the electric Avenger with a hybrid powertrain, Fiat has the same for the European 600 and is considering doing the same again for the new 500.
We are a long way from hybrid enlightenment, but not for technical reasons; The STLA Large chassis is ready to accommodate an ICE power plant. However, if a hybrid Recon does happen, it would give the Recon another common point of contact with the Wrangler. And perhaps a Recon PHEV could build on the success of the Wrangler PHEV; The Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe were the two best-selling plug-in hybrids in the country in 2022 and 2023, and the brand expects to sell 175,000 PHEVs this year.