Jeep Compass and Renegade have already had their PHEVs revealed and their electric versions will likely debut sometime next year
With several global manufacturers having already stepped into the electrification phase, FCA’s Jeep brand has revealed that its whole portfolio will be turned electric via plug-in hybrid or all-electric route by 2022. It was confirmed by the American UV specialists’ president Christian Meunier during Gladiator pickup truck’s launch in New Zealand.
He explained that the Compass, Renegade and Wrangler SUVs offered in different price ranges will be electrified next year via PHEV treatment and the move to fully electric powertrains will happen “soon after”, under an aggressive strategy to sell all Jeep vehicles with zero tailpipe emission by the calendar year 2022 across the globe.
Meunier is keen on Jeep’s international expansion and he has admittedly been travelling to China and other places several times over the last six months to understand the brand’s perception. If anything the Compass has taught, it is that the company can be a global phenomenon. Jeep has a new strategic plan for growth in China and has established a new management there.
In 2019, Jeep’s cumulative worldwide volume sales will exceed more than a million and a half units – five times more than what was experienced a decade ago. Pursuing with plug-in hybrid technology will enable Jeep with a petrol range of more than 450 km along with 50 km run in electric motors alone to fix the range anxiety issues.
In the product lineup, Compass and Renegade are the first in line to receive PHEVs and we have already seen them in flesh. Both the off-roading SUVs use a 1.3-litre turbocharged engine working in tandem with electric motors – engine driving front axle and motors the rear for an effective e-AWD. Their all-electric counterparts will be unveiled mostly towards the end of next year.
Jeep is preparing to unleash the facelifted Compass sometime in the middle of 2020 in India while the PHEV could arrive in the near future to comply with CAFE norms. The three-row seven-seater Compass appears to have been pushed back by a year to 2021 and a compact SUV said to have Jeep’s off-roading DNA is also in the pipeline.