Jeep

The Jeep Gladiator ute will only have V6 petrol power for the foreseeable future, after executives ruled out the option of a diesel. Even though diesel is the most popular option for pick-ups sold in Australia, Jeep has officially killed hopes of a diesel-powered Gladiator coming to Australia, citing a lack of availability in right-hand drive.

Jeep has announced local pricing and specifications for its updated Compass SUV range, in Australian showrooms now. The 2020 Compass range sees the addition of new Night Eagle and S-Limited trims, joining existing Limited and Trailhawk variants. The Night Eagle replaces the Compass Sport as the entry-level trim, meaning buyers wanting to get into a Compass will now spend $6250 more. For the extra money, buyers get a range of improved standard safety tech.

New car sales in Europe have dropped 74 per cent since January, the decline attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just 292,180 new cars were sold across the 27 European member states – plus the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland – in April 2020, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. That’s a 74.8 per cent decrease (or 842,940 sales) against the 1,135,120 new car registrations recorded in January 2020.

US car giant Jeep says it has no plans to walk away from right-hand-drive markets – even though its rival General Motors will retreat from Australia, Thailand and New Zealand by the end of 2021 after getting out of the UK, South Africa and India over the past three years. The man in charge of Jeep in Australia, Kevin Flynn, said he has been advised by parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that it is committed to right-hand-drive production.