2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV
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NEW YORK — The first all-electric Jeep SUV for the U.S. will be the 2024 Wagoneer S, starting at about $72,000 when it goes on sale this fall.
The Stellar-owned brand unveiled the vehicle and pricing on Thursday, portraying it as a “new chapter” for the quintessential American SUV brand that has struggled with domestic sales in recent years.
“That means a lot. It is the first global one [all-electric vehicle] “Built in North America, designed in the USA… for the world,” Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa said in an interview with CNBC following the vehicle’s unveiling. “It is a milestone in our history.”
Filosa, who took over as Jeep in December, said the brand was in “fantastic shape” but was in the midst of a “transition like all automotive brands today” that includes electrification.
Although the adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. is slower than expected, Filosa said the brand is not worried about consumer acceptance as it complements Jeep’s product lineup, which continues to include traditional gas-powered SUVs, plug-in hybrid Electric vehicles and “advanced vehicles” will offer long-range electric vehicles starting next year.
Jeep Wagoneer S EV concept
Michael Wayland/CNBC
A “Launch Edition” of the Wagoneer S will initially be available with a 400-volt, 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack that can travel more than 300 miles on a single charge, 600 horsepower and 617 pound-feet of torque for 0-to-60 acceleration Miles per hour in 3.4 seconds. According to the company, it can be charged from 20% to 80% in 23 minutes using a DC fast charger.
Jeep also unveiled a Trailhawk off-road performance electric vehicle concept, which Filosa said will “hopefully become a product soon.”
According to Filosa, cheaper models of the Wagoneer S will hit the market approximately six months after the Launch Edition.
The Wagoneer S EV’s starting price is $71,995, falling between the gas-powered versions of the Wagoneer, which start at about $63,000, and the more luxurious Grand Wagoneer, which starts at about $92,000.
Jeep will also introduce a new, as-yet-unnamed midsize SUV next year to replace the discontinued Cherokee, Filosa said.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV
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He also said the company will launch longer-range electric versions of the traditional gas-powered Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models in 2025, including the upcoming Ram Ramcharger pickup.
US EV offensive
The Wagoneer S is the start of what Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares this week called the automaker’s electric offensive for the U.S., which includes six to eight all-electric vehicles this year.
“There are a lot of opportunities here in the United States. We are just beginning our electrification offensive,” Tavares said Wednesday during a Bernstein investor conference.
For Jeep, the Wagoneer S is expected to be followed later this year by a Wrangler-inspired SUV called the Recon and “very soon” by a new electric vehicle costing about $25,000, Tavares said Wednesday, without revealing further details.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares holds a press conference after a meeting with unions on March 31, 2022 in Turin, Italy.
Massimo Pinca | Reuters
For years, Tavares has been clear that regulatory requirements, not consumer demand, forced the company to produce electric vehicles that cost 40% more. On Wednesday, he described electric vehicles as a “cost-cutting measure” to ensure the vehicles are profitable.
The electric vehicles represent a shift for Jeep in the U.S., where the brand is focusing on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, such as the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs. Plug-in vehicles accounted for 17.5% of Jeep sales this year.
Filosa said Jeep, currently No. 1 in PHEVs in the U.S., expects sales of these vehicles to continue growing alongside its upcoming electric vehicles.
“Electrification has worked very, very well for us so far. Essentially,” he said during the unveiling event, “we built the PHEV industry. This part of the market belongs to us.”
Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk EV concept
Michael Wayland/CNBC
Stellantis’ total U.S. PHEV sales were nearly 143,000 last year, up 124% compared to 2022. The leader was Jeep, including 67,429 Jeep Wranglers and 45,684 Jeep Grand Cherokee “4xe” SUVs.
Jeep is using the 4xe badge to capitalize on the brand’s reputation in the off-road sector combined with electrification, including electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Wagoneer S
According to the company, the Wagoneer S is Jeep’s first “global” electric vehicle. The Jeep brand’s first EV model called Avenger, a small SUV starting at about 35,000 euros, or about $37,800, went on sale in Europe last year.
The Wagoneer S, which will be produced at a factory in Mexico, is based on Stellantis’ large electric vehicle platform, which is expected to support eight of the company’s vehicles from 2024 to 2026.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV “R-Wing”
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Although it shares the Wagoneer name with Jeep’s current gas-powered model, the five-seat, two-row EV has little in common with its three-row traditional combustion engine counterpart other than a few Jeep styling cues.
The most noticeable difference in the exterior is a more modern interpretation of the brand’s typical seven-slot radiator grille, which the electric vehicle does not actually need for cooling. It is notched and the slots are fixed and connected together, as opposed to seven separate slots.
“We have reinvented the traditional seven-slot grille,” said Ralph Gilles, Stellantis design chief. “I’m so damn proud of that.”
The Wagoneer S also features a large “R-wing,” an open spoiler at the back of the SUV. Gilles said the goal is not to make a “jellybean” like many electric vehicles with good aerodynamics currently sold in the United States
The Wagoneer S is far less boxy than the gasoline model, helping make it the most aerodynamic Jeep the brand has ever produced, the company said.
Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles at the unveiling of the Jeep Wagoneer S EV on May 30, 2024 in New York City.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
Gilles said the Wagoneer name represents the luxury of the vehicle rather than a unique design.
Inside the vehicle are more than 45 inches of screens, including a 12.3-inch center display, and a mix of metal, faux leather and other sustainable materials.
Gilles, a longtime renowned car designer with the company, said wood has been banned from the vehicle’s interior. There is no chrome to be found on the outside of the SUV either. These decisions were made based on input from younger designers to make the vehicle more sustainable and attractive to younger buyers.
“If this is going to be an environmentally friendly vehicle, we need to rethink the materials inside,” Gilles said. “There has been a big push for sustainable materials everywhere.”
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2024-05-30 23:53:43
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