Jeep to reveal electrification plans on 4xe Day, Sep 8

UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 7: Jeep to reveal electrification plans on '4xe Day', in the coming days.

Jeep is nearing its first major step towards the fast-approaching era of electric vehicles, set to reveal their roadmap going forward on '4xe Day', tomorrow on September 8.

Initial details remain scarce, however we expect to learn more once the calendar turns once more. Taking into account the time difference from Jeep's native state of Ohio, September 8 commences at 2pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Jeep last week teased 4xe Day with a mission statement of "accelerating toward Zero Emission Freedom", promising a "series of announcements" on its forthcoming electrification plans.

A teaser posted to twitter states that "an electrifying new adventure begins" on 4xe Day, signing off by claiming "freedom is electric".

Some of Jeep's future EVs could be among the eight models previewed by parent company Stellantis in July 2021, to be based on Stellantis' multi billion-dollar dedicated-EV STLA platform which is expected to debut by 2026.

In its native home of the United States, Jeep has already brought the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid to market, the US' top-selling PHEV so far in 2022, along with the Renegade and Compass 4xe.

Jeep Australia was previously believed to have been evaluating the Wrangler 4xe - currently produced exclusively in left-hand drive - for local release.

Jeep's first global BEV (battery electric vehicle) is a small SUV, codenamed 516, and is due to be launched in North American and European markets in the first half of 2023. Australian availability is yet to be confirmed.

We'll be watching 4xe Day tomorrow closely, so stay tuned for more on Jeep's future steps towards electrification.

The story to now

Original story, July 16 2021: Jeep has celebrated its 80th anniversary this week by revealing more about its plans to electrify its line-up and what it means for the future of the brand’s iconic design.

Teasing a new video on its YouTube channel today, the carmaker outlined a raft of new features coming across its range over the next decade.

This year we can expect to see solar charging stations and the expansion of its 4xe electric range – following the reveal of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe PHEV which will be going on sale in the United States, China and Europe this year. No release date has been confirmed yet for Australia.

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By mid-decade, Jeep claims its range will have; biometric configuration, dynamic tyre pressure, multi-power ports, be capable of peer-to-peer charging and drone pairing.

Then by 2030 its “dream of what is possible” includes; autonomous off-roading, remote vehicle tracking, flat-seat stargazing and even a nod to the possibility of full underwater driving.

This follows the news last week, revealed as part of parent company Stellantis’s EV Day, the company will offer at least one full-electric model in each of its SUV segments and 70 per cent of its global sales will be of electrified vehicles by 2025.

The caveat to the pledge being that in some markets the figure won’t be nearly as high, some might boast 95 per cent electric sales while others scrape 20 per cent, although it hopes most will achieve more than 30 per cent mild-hybrid, PHEV or BEVs by that time.

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Claiming “4xe is the new 4x4”, the American marque discussed its transition from the internal combustion engine to electric, stating not only will the fifth-generation Grand Cherokee 4xe be coming to our region when it launches next year, but the Wagoneer premium SUV will also be offered as an EV by 2025.

Speaking at a roundtable event for the India and Asia Pacific region this week, Jeep CEO Christian Meunier would not be led on which 4xe models will be coming or in what order.

“Not every new electric model will be seen in every single market or region right away, it will gradually come and how soon will depend on the local market and if governments are willing to promote electrification and greater grid development,” he said.

“What I am convinced of is what we provide will be appealing to our customers. It will come as soon as possible, as soon as the market is ready for it.

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“In Australia [enthusiasm for] electrification is happening very quickly. Of course it is far behind Europe and still a little bit behind the US, but we see the energy there.

“But basically these countries [including Australia] need to contribute to accelerating efforts towards electrification by evolving legislation and we’re now starting to see that. Instead of waiting for governments to tell us what they’re going to do and when, we like to have a practical approach and bring it [the technology] up front, we’re going to push for electrification as a leader, not a follower.

"We’re expanding our portfolio into new segments, with the 3-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L, while setting a strong foothold in the premium SUV market, with our all-new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.”

So far this year we’ve seen the local arrival of the new Compass this month, a Gladiator entry-level variant in June and Sport S back in February, as well as the introduction of special edition Cherokees, Grand Cherokees and Wranglers Unlimited in honour of its 80th birthday – not to forget 130 Wrangler Unlimited Willys.

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Over the past decade Jeep has expanded dramatically going from four plants in the US to 10 in six countries, and added new nameplates such as the Compass and Renegade which has allowed it to achieve one million sales annually over the last seven years compared to 300,000 in 2009.

Down Under the company is also going strong, performing well for the last 14 months with sales numbers up 67 per cent up on a Covid-hit 2020 and 36 per cent up on 2019, making it one of the top growing brands in Australia.

The CEO said Jeep EVs will “deliver open air freedom in silence” and electrification will “make off-roading even more fun and precise” signalling the brand will be exploring new design possibilities as part of its strategy over the next decade.

Jeep’s global head of design, Mark Allen, said his team is bringing back the design of the old Willys more and more into its nine-strong line-up, as the marque tries to preserve aspects which are important to the brand and connect new vehicles spiritually to their ancestors.

“Our new designs will focus on storage, torque, [being] quiet, and cooling in a different way. We’re making not just a new Jeep but a better Jeep in every way.

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“What electric brings us is the chance to start moving things in a big way architecturally. One thing that will never change is the design being person-centric, the mechanics may shift because finally we’re able to move some of them around – such as creating a lower, shorter front overhang.

“Not having to do the cooling up front, we can move the wheels forward into a better position, and I like the idea of the torque being applied to the wheels in a different manner. It’s the beginning of being able to change some big nuggets around, which we couldn’t do before, to make a much more efficient package of vehicle.

“Battery packs too are something we’ve not worked with before and they are getting more and more efficient in terms of size, we might be able in future to break them up into pieces. There are lots of exciting things we could do with different powertrains.”

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When asked if the Wrangler’s design will ever vary from its roots, the boss was vehemently opposed to taking the iconic styling in an entirely new direction.

“My vision is for the Wrangler to morph as we go forward but as for a total redesign and starting all over again? That’s not going to happen,” said Allen.

“It’s so important to me to have that language which has always been so familiar and connects us to the origins of Jeep in 1941, we’re not going to throw it out for a new theme. We tried square headlights once and people came for us with torches and pitchforks, and that was a small change and people were horrified. We learned our lesson. The Wrangler will adapt to modern powertrains but we will not re-theme it, not on my watch! It’s our 911 man!”