“This is definitely a valuable offer for the customer,” said Tevon Brooks, Jeep’s product director for North America.
Jeep on the fly will learn about the tastes of consumers in the segment of connected hybrids from Wrangler 4xe.
The Wrangler 4xe attracts a young, educated shopper who loves the outdoors. Morrison hopes for the same with the Grand Cherokee, but said the brand is also paying attention to other factors.
“It’s sometimes demographics, and sometimes psychography and attitudes,” Morrison said. “It’s a Jeep thing and a connection to nature. As we strive to develop 4xe technology to make 4xe the next 4×4, it’s natural for us to have an instant connection to freedom and adventure.”
Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said Jeep has found a strong market for buyers who want to have opportunities with less fuel use.
“The popularity of the Wrangler 4xe suggests that there are buyers of the more sophisticated Grand Cherokee who will appreciate the benefits of the plug-in hybrid,” Fiorani said.
The growing 4xe line could also help Stellantis offset emissions from Hemi truck sales by reducing the need to buy carbon credits from other companies, Fiorani said.
“Tax breaks allow manufacturers to raise the price of these new technologies, making them even more profitable,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation for Stelantis.”
Randy Dai, chairman of Stellantis National Council of Dealers, said the Wrangler 4xe attracted a wide demographic of buyers. Dai, who owns a Daytona Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Florida, said the Wrangler 4xe was buying far more people than he could have imagined.
The Grand Cherokee 4xe, Dai said, could have even more massive appeal.
“I think you’ll get a lot of people attracted to the Grand Cherokee who don’t belong to the typical Jeep family,” Dai said. “We’ll have our loyal people, of course, but I think you’ll see a lot of other people in that.”
