What we can expect from the next Jeep small electric crossover
Everyone expected the very first electric Jeep to be in line with the off-road Wrangler. However, the American automaker surprised the world with its new announcement. Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis, presented its plans to reduce its carbon footprint with a view to achieving total carbon neutrality by 2038. In this presentation, the automaker released the first teaser images of the upcoming battery electric vehicle Jeep. The vehicle is not a Wrangler but looks like the smaller version of the Compass SUV. Here’s what we can expect from Jeep’s next small electric crossover.
What we know about the next Jeep BEV
The automaker has not revealed detailed details about the model at this time. Currently, we were simply offered to take a look at the exterior design. This suggests the car would largely look like a scaled-down version of the Jeep Compass. Looking at the front styling, the signature seven-slot Jeep grille is closed off and features a small “e” badge. The headlight flanking it on either side uses an eyebrow-shaped DRL on top, with smoked main lights below. At the rear, the electric SUV has a sporty hatchback look. It’s wide and the taillights feature an integrated design that looks extremely cool. They also feature the Jeep X signature with a smoked appearance.
The large wheel arches are well filled with the large wheels, however, we believe this would be reduced for the production model. The two-tone floating roof design gives the Jeep BEV an interesting and sporty look. The rear door handles were placed on the C-pillars instead of the doors. This not only gives it a 3-door appearance, but is likely to improve the drag coefficient of the vehicle. Overall, the vehicle sports a conventional design.
As a Jeep, the model could come with a twin-motor setup. It would be natural to offer all-wheel drive, essential to the Jeep brand. However, this is likely a higher spec option. The Jeep electric crossover will be built in Europe alongside other Stellantis-branded models that use a common platform.
What we don’t yet know about the next Jeep BEV
The only badges present on the car include the Jeep brand logos and a small ‘e’ badge on the front and rear. At this time, Jeep has not revealed or suggested the name of the production model.
The model is likely to share the same platform as upcoming models from other brands under the Stellantis umbrella like the Alfa Romeo Brennero or the new generation Peugeot e-2008. The Jeep BEV will use Stellantis’ STLA Small platform; an updated version of the Peugeot EMP1 platform. The same EV platform design is used on cars like the Citroën DS3 Crossback, Peugeot e-208 and Opel Corsa e. However, none of these vehicles offer a two-motor option. Although all-wheel drive is essential for a Jeep, the platform it is supposed to use may not be able to accommodate this feature. However, it could be modified to incorporate a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. Naturally, it would be weird to have a single front-engine-only electric Jeep.
If the platform were to change to a two-motor design, we expect other models using the same platform to start offering the same. But all-wheel drive would most likely be reserved for the higher-performance, non-standard models. Even for the Jeep BEV.
Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 Strategic Plan
The Jeep BEV is part of Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 nine-year strategic plan. The auto conglomerate is looking to transition all 14 brands to include electrified vehicles in their lineups.
Renders released by the company suggest that the product is almost ready for production. We expect to see minor changes in the final production model. Stellantis has confirmed that the new Jeep compact city SUV will go on sale in early 2023. Production is expected to start in November 2022 and will be manufactured at the Tychy plant in Poland. The company further added that a pure off-road model (likely an electric Wrangler) and a family SUV will hit the streets in 2024. The CEO of Jeep also added that by 2025 the brand will offer an electric vehicle in each sector. By 2026, electric vehicles should represent 100% of the brand’s sales in Europe.
It’s unclear if Jeep’s small electric city SUV will hit the US market. However, we can expect the larger products that will follow to be sold in the United States. Jeep, and especially the other brands under the Stellantis umbrella, are relatively late in the EV party. However, as the company now sets ambitious goals, we believe it will arrive with all guns blazing.
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