Jeep cuts prices and expands lineup amid tougher competition and high interest rates: ‘We needed to do something’
Jeep, the crown jewel of Stellantis NV’s 14 vehicle brands, will lower prices and add models and features to its lineup this year as it seeks to regain market share lost to squeezed consumers and stiffer competition in its core US market.
The carmaker is lowering the sticker price on its top-selling Grand Cherokee SUV by as much as $4,000. It is cutting prices on its Jeep truck, the Gladiator, by an average of $1,700. The 2024 Jeep Compass, the lowest-priced model in its lineup, starts below $26,000, an average drop of $2,500, said Antonio Filosa, who became global head of the Jeep brand in November.
The 2024 Jeep Wrangler includes $3,000 worth of new content, like a 12.3-inch touch screen that comes standard on all trims.
“Inflation was such a big negative hit for families and people here in the US, we needed to do something,” Filosa said in a presentation to reporters Friday at the company’s US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
This is a critical year for the prized SUV brand, which saw its move upmarket falter after higher interest rates shifted consumers toward more affordable vehicles. Jeep has cut production to tame bloated inventories.
The automaker also plans to offer new products, including Jeep’s first full battery-electric offerings for US consumers, the Jeep Recon and the Jeep Wagoneer S.
The Jeep Wagoneer S, a midsize pure electric SUV, will come to market in the second half of 2024 as a premium offering with 600 horsepower. The Jeep Recon, an all-electric version of the off-roading Wrangler, will debut at year-end. Filosa said he expects to sell 10,000 fully electric Jeeps in 2024.
Filosa said the “freedom of choice” of powertrains will be a strength in the marketplace, a nod to the industrywide slowdown in demand for electric vehicles. Jeep, which has historically lagged its peers in electrification, is counting on its plug-in hybrid 4xe technology to reach consumers who aren’t ready to embrace pure BEVs.
The Wagoneer nameplate, once part of a luxury sub-brand introduced in 2021, will now be folded into the Jeep lineup, he said.
Lost Share
Jeep’s average transaction prices continued to climb last year and its market share tumbled. Jeep’s share fell to 3.92% in the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 3.97% a year ago and 5.17% in 2019, according to researcher Cox Automotive.
Jeep sold 152,818 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, down 31% from the same period in 2019, though they rose 7% from the fourth quarter of 2023, a sign deliveries are turning around. Stellantis was the only major automaker to post lower sales in 2023 versus 2022, when chip shortages drained dealer lots, according to Cox.
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares has publicly stated his displeasure with the company’s North American performance last year.
“I don’t think we were stellar in 2023” when it came to marketing, managing cash flow, manufacturing and coordination with dealers, he said on a conference call with reporters earlier this month. “I’m quite confident 2024 will be better than 2023.”
