A first 100% electric car for Jeep. The American brand of the Stellantis group presented this Thursday, September 8, its first zero-emission model, called Avenger.
“It’s a massive acceleration of our electrification strategy,” said Christian Meunier, CEO of Jeep and guest of Good Evening Business this Thursday, September 8.
A turn towards the electric that can create reluctance among Jeep fans, who may remain attached to the thermal engine. But for Christian Meunier, it’s not really a problem:
“I can tell you that three years ago, when I took over as CEO of Jeep, there was some question about Jeep’s ability to go electric. Since then, we’ve launched (in hybrid editor’s note) the Renegade 4XE (to pronounce ” 4 par E”)). ), the Compass 4XE, the Wrangler 4XE, our icon and it’s a monumental success. The fans are won over after a minute (…). Electrification for Jeep is an opportunity to make our products even more off-road capable, more fun to drive.”
A small SUV to start in the electric
Announced with 400 km of autonomy, the Avenger will be the smallest model in the range, somewhat shorter than a Renegade (4.24 meters). Destined for Europe, it will be produced at the Polish Tychy factory where Stellantis currently produces the thermal Fiat 500 (the electric 500 is produced at the Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy), its Abarth versions and the Lancia Yspilon. It will be based on the Peugeot 208 and 2008 platform, both offered in a 100% electric version.
The Avenger will be the only model presented by Jeep at the Mondial de l’Auto, of which BFMTV is a partner, which will be held in Paris from October 17 to 23 soon.
In this way, the brand wants to break its image as a seller of 4x4s perceived as highly polluting. A first step has already been taken this year in Europe: as of June 1, it is the first brand in the Stellantis group to have only electrified vehicles in its new range of vehicles in Europe (hybrids and rechargeable hybrids).
Jeep also announced two other new vehicles that will launch in the next two years. In North America, the brand will launch the Recon, a 100% electric all-terrain model with removable doors.
Jeep also plans to launch an electric version of its largest SUV, the Wagoneer, which has a powerful 600-horsepower engine and promises up to 600 kilometers of autonomy. This model will be launched on the European market, for which until now the thermal model was too large and too polluting, to be able to compete with very luxurious SUVs such as the Range Rover or the BMW X7.
In Europe, Jeep plans to sell only electric cars starting in 2030 and forecasts that these zero-emission models will account for 50% in the United States by this date.
In fact, Europe aims to ban the sale of thermal cars (including hybrids) from 2035. Since then, California has shown the same goal.
Source: BFM TV
