Electric to become the new V8 at Jeep

Jeep has moved to comfort performance vehicle enthusiasts lamenting the loss of the brand’s V8 engine in Australia, assuring them there will be a bright future under a bourgeoning EV line-up.

Jeep Australia reiterated its intention not to offer a V8 version (or a diesel variant, for that matter) of the new Grand Cherokee L that will be officially launched this week.

The all-new large seven-seat SUV is being released with a solitary petrol V6 – a detuned version of Jeep’s long-running naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 – that will be bolstered by the 4xe plug-in hybrid variant down the track.

Once limited stocks of the outgoing WK Grand Cherokee five-seater are depleted, the only diesel Jeep available in Australia will be the Compass Trailhawk and the US off-road brand will be without any V8 models.

That leaves a sizeable hole for buyers of traditional Jeep performance products including the 6.4-litre V8-powered Grand Cherokee SRT and the ballistic 522kW Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, which packed a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 and was once the world’s quickest SUV.

But fear not, said Stellantis Asia Pacific boss Billy Hayes at the launch of the new WL-series Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

“The instant torque you get with a properly mated electric motor and battery – a lot of detuning actually happens because there’s so much torque delivered to the wheels,” he said.

“Electric will absolutely replace what’s going right now with V8s and high-torque diesels – they will get replaced by EV.”

Asked whether Jeep’s SRT performance brand might eventually adopt EV tech, Hayes said all options were on the table.

“It depends upon the brand. Everything right now is being evaluated in terms of what SRT looks like in the future,” he said.

“Certainly our high-output variants will carry an EV powertrain.”

Jeep has grand plans to electrify every model it sells by 2025, but the American marque is keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to specifics.

“Stay tuned, it’s right around the corner,” Hayes said, coyly.

“Jeep is going to have electrified versions of all our products in the next few years and, certainly for many of our products, Australia is on the docket.

“We’ve got an expanded line-up that you haven’t seen before and nobody has seen before. Our aspirations are much, much higher.”

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