What the heck is Jeep doing?  I think Stellantis is trying its hardest to establish a new vision and restore credibility.  I worked at Jeep stores for years, and am absolutely a fan of the brand, which is why I hate to see one of my favorite cars struggle.

 

Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares was pushed out December 2024, and is blamed for the rapid decline of a great American icon.  Jeep fans were skeptical of EV and PHEV powertrains.  Reliability issues began to surface back up, making those early 2000 opinions of a crappy car, true.  Wranglers were shutting down in the middle of intersections, radios were locking up, batteries were failing, and the dashboard would light up like a Christmas tree with all kinds of warnings.

 

I think Jeep anticipated the demand of EVs and fully submerged in the battery world, while also not fully buying in.  Jeep rolled out its 4xe line up for Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, a plug-in hybrid that offered a battery range of 18 miles and its petrol capability.  The Wagoneer S eventually debuted as a full EV Jeep option without the rugged capability.  The range on the 4xe was one of the lowest and the Wagoneer S didn’t fit any typical Jeep customer.  You got the feeling Tavares pushed the idea just to say they have it too, but the execution was poor and it drove Jeep fans away.

 

Then you see what it did to the market and it drives you even crazier.  Never in my life had I seen a Wrangler lose so much in value, EVER!  The 4xe qualified for all the federal rebates for their lease programs.  You could get $17,000 in lease rebates on these Wranglers, at the time, it was great.  You would be a fool not to lease a Wrangler for $285 a month.  Unfortunately, those massive lease rebates tanked the pre-owned market.  Previous Jeep customers that wanted in on the great deals, were $7,000-$12,000 upside down on their current Jeep.  When a model offers big rebates on new cars, the used market needs to adjust accordingly to justify the difference between new and used pricing.  Tavares pushed 4xe inventory on dealers, it was all you could get.  Stellantis rode the wave as long as it could.

 

September 2025 comes up and Jeep dealers are doing all they can to dump 4xe inventory.  After Trump announced the axing of EV/PHEV rebates and 2 years of Jeep fans voicing their displeasure, new leadership had to make a decision.  Stellantis is bringing back the Hemi for Dodge and RAM and the award winning Pentastar is the primary engine again for Jeep.  The one positive Stellantis did over the last 2 years was produce the Hurricane engine for RAM.  This inline, 6 cylinder, twin turbo engine feakin’ rocks!  It put up better numbers than the old 6.2L V8 the TRX had.  The Hurricane is a story for another time though.

 

Motor Trend has reported the massive effort Stellantis is doing to revive the Jeep product.  This is where Jeep is winning me back; they acknowledged their problem, admitted their mistake and are showing what they are doing to correct it.  The Cherokee is set to debut its new look,  the Grand Wagoneer is refreshed and prices lowered, Wrangler and Gladiator are back to form, and Grand Cherokee is going to be new for 2026 WITH a new category 4 Hurricane engine.

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I think Jeep still has to pull itself out of the mud over the next year or two, but the future is looking bright and Jeep fans should rejoice.  New Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa was Jeep’s CEO years ago, and he understands what Jeep was, is and will be for years to come.