Jeep Plan: Affordability and HybridsJeep Plan: Affordability and Hybrids

DETROIT – For decades, as owners of the old Chrysler Corp. bought and sold the company, which includes Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge (and what is now the Ram pickup line), Jeep was always the jewel in the deals because of its global brand appeal.

But in Jeep’s home market, sales have declined from 973,227 units in 2018 to 564,000 in 2024. The pandemic didn’t help. But parent Stellantis’s product and pricing plan for Jeep is more the culprit as the iconic brand has lost sales to a rise in all-wheel-drive, off-road-capable SUVs, CUVs and midsize sport trucks.

Bob Broderdorf, a veteran of Chrysler brands since 2000, took over as Jeep’s North American chief last September when Stellantis made a series of management changes intended to right the brands as the company’s sales and profits were declining and hammering the automaker’s share price.

The Jeep chief says he is focused on a three-step mission: Address affordability with new products priced $20,000-$35,000; clarify Jeep’s brand image through product design and featuring, as well as marketing, the models that offer the most “fun" in their segments; and better management of the premium SUV space with a focus on watching the competitive pricing of the Wagoneer line.

Later this year, Jeep will introduce a CUV to replace the discontinued Cherokee. Broderdorf says the name of the vehicle is not ready to be disclosed, though Cherokee has enormous brand awareness and equity. Stellantis sources tell WardsAuto the model will be offered as a hybrid-electric vehicle to, in part, address long-standing complaints about fuel economy among Jeeps.

A CUV priced below the Cherokee replacement to flank the Compass is also expected by year-end.

The Jeep Compass MSRP is listed at $28,000-$36,000, but dealership websites often have the compact SUV priced above $40,000, which is out of whack with rival models from Ford, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.

“We absolutely have to take care of the volume segments,” says Broderdorf. “Our $20,000-$35,000 segment is a massive mess. We need a further array of products in that space. We walked away from those offerings and that is where we should be bringing in young people to the brand. You will see us address those.”

Besides the more affordable Jeeps, the Jeep Recon, also due to be released this year, is a battery-electric SUV. But Stellantis can’t count on brisk sales given the slowdown in BEV demand. The Recon is being built in Toluca, Mexico, so it would not qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit if it is upheld by the incoming Trump Admin.

Jeep has largely already addressed the initial pricing mistakes made on Wagoneer, and sales are responding. The 2024 model year Wagoneer started at $62,945, while the 2025 model starts at $59,945. That puts it on competitive pricing ground with Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition and well below Toyota Sequoia and GMC Yukon.

Broderdorf is all too aware of the mounting competition but feels the brand must assert its bona fides. “This brand was founded on some of the most amazing fun things you can do in utility vehicles,” he says. “We invented the thing. We are the iconic brand that set the bar. And we need to continue to do that. This brand needs to have some swagger, some attitude.”