Two Jeep EVs to make Canadian, U.S. debuts in 2024

DETROIT — The first fully electric Jeeps for Canada and the United States are scheduled to arrive in 2024.

The Wrangler-inspired Recon and a sleek midsize crossover called the Wagoneer S will mark the beginning of the battery-electric era for the brand in its biggest market.

The Recon, like the Wrangler, will have removable doors and windows and a power top to offer open-air driving. The Wagoneer S, despite sharing a name with the brand's largest SUVs, has its own design language.

Jeep is targeting a range of 400 miles — or 640 kilometres — for the Wagoneer S and aims to produce 600 hp with a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of around 3.5 seconds. It will be sold in major markets around the world, including Europe.

"The Wagoneer S is very exciting because it's a statement of efficiency," Stellantis design chief Canadian Ralph Gilles said at a media briefing Wednesday. "It's also taking and reinventing that seven-element grille and now you're piercing the wind. You're really making art of Jeep DNA."

The Recon features rugged styling that appears made for trails. It features "Selec-Terrain" traction management, e-locker axle technology, underbody protection, tow hooks and off-road tires. It also has the latest-generation Uconnect infotainment system, including travel guides for notable off-road trails.

Consumers can begin ordering the Recon and Wagoneer S in early 2023. Both models will be assembled in North America.

The Recon and Wagoneer S are based on the STLA Large platform that's designed to support EVs, Jeep CEO Christian Meunier said.

"That's quite remarkable, because you see that the flavours of these two vehicles is quite different," Meunier said. "Customer targets are extremely different. One is really an adventure machine; the other one is more of a reinvention of the American modern icon — high performance, very fast, very premium. Very different customers, but at the same time, the underpinnings are pretty much common. The platform is the same. The battery packs are the same."

Meunier said being part of Stellantis allows the brand to capitalize on engineering and design resources, software and "all the horsepower that we need to basically accelerate electrification and keep the Jeep DNA intact, because that's what really matters."

In addition to the electric Recon and Wagoneer S vehicles, Jeep is planning to launch Wagoneer 4xe plug-in hybrids in 2024 that have a combined battery and gasoline range of 500 miles.

Jeep says it will introduce four fully electric SUVs in North America and Europe by 2025. The brand projects that, by 2030, EVs will account for half of its U.S. deliveries and all of its sales in Europe.

Europe will get its first electric Jeep in early 2023 with the debut of the subcompact Avenger. Jeep says the Avenger, which will have a range of about 250 miles, is too small to be suitable for the U.S. but will be sold in Japan and South Korea. An image of the Avenger was first shown in March during Stellantis' Dare Forward 2030 presentation. It will be built in Poland.

The Avenger is "smaller than today's Renegade," said Jim Morrison, Jeep's North America head, "and although that segment is important for Europe, it still doesn't exist here in the States."