Jeep investigating new micro-SUV
Sub-Renegade entry model could be targeted at European city-dwellers.
Jeep is considering offering a new extra small SUV.
The American brand has mooted a potential new entry-level micro-SUV that would sit under the current Renegade city SUV. The new SUV would primarily be pitched towards European city dwellers.
Industry journal Automotive News Europe believes the new model would share its underpinnings with the Fiat Panda and 500 microcars, with the finished product likely to have a sub 4.0-metre overall length.
A production line shuffle would see the next-generation Panda moved from its current Italian factory to be produced alongside the 500 in Poland, freeing up the Pomigliano factory near Naples for Jeep’s use.
At the recent 2018 Detroit motor show the head of Jeep and Ram, Mike Manley, was mindful of international market trends opening the possibility of a more compact new model.
“If I look at European markets and other international markets, you can see that a smaller vehicle is developing and that is something we are looking very closely at right now,” Manley told reporters in Detroit.
While Jeep already has two SUVs under Australia’s small SUV classification with the Renegade and slightly larger Compass, a new more compact model could potentially start the range off with an entry price closer to the $20,000 mark, allowing Jeep to compete with low price small SUV’s like the base model Mazda CX-3 as well as vying for market share with traditional small hatches.
By using the Panda’s underpinnings Jeep would also be able to offer both front- and all-wheel drive versions of the new crossover, allowing range-topping models to retain some degree of off road ability in line with the brand’s adventure-ready ethos.
Jeep parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is scheduled to unveil a five-year future strategic plan in June which may include the first confirmation of any new model lines slated for Jeep along with plans for the Chrysler and Dodge brands.