I feel like they had a lot of margin to play with in the 4xe and the Wrangler in general. Incentivizing them makes sense as it helps build volume faster to reduce cost for both the Wrangler and GC systems. Plus it helps with CAFE and potentially lessening the amount of credits Stellantis has to buy.
Buildup of Stellantis inventories
Anyone notice that RAM, Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler have the largest inventories of vehicles.
The consensus is they have priced themselves out of the market. Any thoughts?
The consensus is they have priced themselves out of the market. Any thoughts?
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I agree the JL focused more on comfort upgrades. However, the bigger issue is the cost engineering throughout and the prevalent steering issues in addition to maintenance on the axles as has been outlined in other threads. Regardless, the Wrangler is still the king off-road. One only has to do a minimal search to find horror stories of Broncos breaking down off-road due to the limited travel of the IFS, boots ripping, etc. The Bronco can best be described as a soft-roader meant for gravel roads or running on the beach. Clearance, angles, and durability ALL still favor Wrangler off-road.The underlying issue with Wrangler, which I’ve been saying since JL came out, is that FCA focused too much on the things that gave it widespread appeal and not enough on the things that made Wrangler unique. And to some extent the same can be said of Jeep at large.
Everything that was new with JL had to do with improving daily comfort, convenience and efficiency, but hardly anything was done to keep Wrangler the master of the trails.
This helped FCA jack up prices and lineup its pockets, but has had two fateful long-term consequences:
And Jeep has apparently bit the bait. The problem is that this leads down to a crowded field, just when Jeep buyers are less loyal and have more options than ever.
- It attracted a new, more affluent buyer in exchange for the traditional Jeep buyer. This meant higher upfront sales and transaction prices, but a less loyal customer base.
- It left Wrangler vulnerable to competitive assaults. After a decade dithering on-and-off, Ford finally decided to launch Bronco when Wrangler looked most vulnerable. If you look at Bronco’s propositioning, it seeks to keep luring Jeep farther down the path of daily comfort and convenience, less so chase it down the off-road trails.
After FCA spent an entire decade putting all its eggs in Jeep, I wonder what Stellantis’s Plan B is going to be.
I’m guessing the reveal is at Easter Jeep Safari, but I haven’t heard anything about the refresh actually addressing the mechanical issues of JL.Speaking of Jeep, there are unofficial reports floating around that Wrangler’s long-awaited mid-cycle redesign opened for ordering three days ago as a 2024 model year.
Dealers were invited to an online internal presentation outlining all the changes to JL, but there has been no public announcement, no press release, no published photos, no reveal for youtubers, no official list of changes, nothing. Dealers are having to describe prospective buyers what this mythical redesigned 2024 Wrangler looks like using their hands.
After years of Wrangler customers waiting for a redesign, dealers are now in the strange position of waiting for customers to come in to place their orders...and waiting, and waiting...
The whole thing is just so bizarre.
I’m not convinced that they will only do a BEV version of Recon. Too expensive to develop vehicles these days to only do a niche product unless you can charge well north of $100k per vehicle. Tesla can charge a lot less due to using the same modular battery designs, motors, etc throughout their lineup. Recon SEEMINGLY wouldn’t have that advantage unless there is a massive BEV push including trucks and CUVs that could share not only power train but suspension components and get annual unit sales to somewhere north of 100k.I guess they are. It’s called Recon. With a starting price of $60,000...
I suspect there is probably a 4xe PHEV version being co-developed. Probably no straight ICE, but that’s just my guess based on the volumes we all know this industry requires for viable products.
Yes, but it would also need to share a ton of other components like probably front & rear suspension, certainly electrical and infotainment (which is common), and it has to be made on a common line with a number of other models to make a plant viable. It isn’t just the batteries and motors, although they’ll be key too. $60k price point is way different than what GM is doing with Hummer or Ford with the F-150 Lightning.The Recon will undoubtedly be sharing electric motors and batteries with other vehicles within Stellantis. Tavares has made it abundantly clear that shared components are at the core of this EV push.
Correct, but they aren’t electric only models. That’s why I made the point that I don’t believe there’s any way Recon can be BEV only. It’s an incredibly niche market even with the explosion of options and interest. Recon will have to share a lot with other models, and still probably need to offer a PHEV drivetrain to get to required economy of scale.I’m still not seeing this as insurmountable. If the Land Rover Defender and Range Rover can share the D7 platform and share suspension components and such despite different market positioning, so could the Recon and the Wagoneer S, for example.
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