Jeep expansion won't include large SUV coupe

If you were dreaming of a sporty, coupe-like Jeep Grand Cherokee to be spun off the new-generation model due in 2017, you could be out of luck.

Although the Grand Cherokee was Australia's top-selling large SUV in 2014, accounting one in every two Jeep's sold – and is regularly cross-shopped against the BMW X5 – Adrian Van Campenhout, Jeep's head of international product planning, said the chances of a coupe-like BMW X6 rival from the brand were slim.

The senior Jeep executive who is in charge of deciding which new models the brand should research and develop said that although his company is not averse to developing three-door versions of some of its models, its smaller SUVs likely candidates, a large halo model is not on the cards.

When quizzed over whether Jeep would consider developing a rival to the BMW X6 or mooted Audi Q6, Van Campenhout responded: "What kind of volumes are those guys getting?"

The BMW X6 sells in tiny quantities compared to the X5 and with Jeep now designated parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' new golden child, Jeep is chasing growth, not status – for now.

While models such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 will continue to be an important variant for the brand, and especially here in Australia, the Jeep product planning chief says it doesn't need a new halo car.

The Wrangler Rubicon an important hero car for the brand, says Van Campenhout, and will continue to do so – even when it's replaced in 2017.

"That's our halo car. That's our niche, to do hard core Wranglers and show the ultimate in off road capabilities.

"That's our gift to the world, where the other guys are doing V16s or whatever," he said, alluding to go-fast SUVs from Germany such as the BMW X6 M and upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLE 63 AMG Coupe.

Even though Jeep has poured cold water on the idea of a five-door large SUV coupe, as previously reported smaller sporty models are being looked at.

Van Campenhout posited that a three-door Jeep Renegade was an "interesting idea". He was more talkative when the prospect of a three-door version of its upcoming micro SUV was raised, a vehicle that will slot in below its smallest model available, the 4.2-metre long Renegade.

"It's an interesting proposal because in the world of coupes, the ebb and flow of two-doors, the wrangler two-door continues to sell and sell and sell, and that two-door thing works [in smaller vehicles]."

The most pressing issue facing Jeep at present will be expanding its model range to achieve the startling global sales goals set out by parent company FCA. Worldwide, just over one million Jeeps found homes in 2014 but with the target of 1.9 million global sales by 2018 the company faces tough challenges in the years ahead.