Jeep Wrangler set for dramatic return with rough 'n' ready electrified power
UK MD says he’s had conversations with top-level management that could see the legendary 4x4 reinvented for EV age
The iconic Jeep Wrangler could see a dramatic return in Europe following internal conversations that suggest the brand is working on a replacement for the recently discontinued off-roader.
Speaking exclusively with Auto Express, Jeep UK managing director, Kris Cholmondeley, admitted that the outgoing Wrangler had been “a victim of regulation”, but that while “it will be going away” he’d be surprised if we didn’t see it “in another incarnation down the line”.
“I've had chats with the head of Europe and the head of the global team,” he told us. “I think we're all aligned that we'd like to see it back – that's what I would say. What and when? I don't know.”
Cholmondeley insisted he didn’t yet know what form the new Wrangler will take: “I honestly don't know if it could come back as plug-in hybrid or full-electric,” the UK boss told us. “I just know the brand; it's got such heritage, it seems silly to lose that.”
Back in 2023, then Jeep CEO Christian Meunier told us that any future Wrangler would need to be more capable off road than the last. “With the next-generation Wrangler we want to push the Trail Rating to 12,” he told us. “Electrification doesn’t prevent us from doing anything when it comes to off-roading.
“The great thing about electrification is that it makes a Jeep more capable,” said Meunier. “It gives us more torque; it makes it smoother and more precise. Then the architecture around it, the suspension system, the axle you’re going to use, can be anything – a solid axle or independent suspension.”
But Cholmondeley is keen to ensure the new model will also be easier to live with day-to-day. Referencing Land Rover as a company that has successfully rebooted an icon with modern internals and even greater usability, the UK MD said: “Look at [the Land Rover] Defender. If you can take something like a Wrangler and have a little bit of refinement, but still keep its personality, you see the hundreds [of sales] going to thousands, don't you?”
Despite being sold with a 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain in other markets, the electrified version of the existing Wrangler was never brought to the UK. The next-generation model is all but guaranteed to have a plug, however; Jeep is already seeing strong sales for the baby Avenger, and has high hopes for the Nissan Qashqai-sized Compass arriving this year – both of which are offered as hybrids and EVs and available to buy through Auto Express Buy a Car now.
The larger, pricier Recon and Wagoneer S have been delayed, but are expected to be electric-only when they do finally reach UK shores over the next 12 to 24 months. However, parent company Stellantis’s multi-fuel strategy could feasibly result in both models being fitted with hybrid tech in an attempt to generate wider appeal and satisfy customer demand for petrol powertrains.
Both of those cars sit on the Stellantis STLA-Large platform, though it’s thought the new Wrangler will adopt the more rugged STLA-Frame architecture for use on “full-size, body-on-frame trucks and SUVs”. Using this tech would ensure the hardcore, trail-rated off-road ability that every Wrangler has been famed for.
Whatever happens, it sounds like a next-generation Wrangler is still some way off – possibly not arriving until the turn of the decade. Despite being axed in Europe, the current vehicle will continue to be produced in Ohio for the US market for the foreseeable future.
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