SPY PICS: Jeep Grand Commander caught testing in Oz

Jeep’s upcoming Grand Commander SUV has made a surprise appearance in Australia.

On the same day Jeep revealed visual details of its seven-seat flagship in China, a keen-eyed motoring.com.au reader obtained pics of heavily camouflaged mules undertaking testing in Victoria.

Each mule is left-hand drive and bears close resemblance to the model shown off on Jeep’s Chinese website. It got us thinking: is the Grand Commander coming to Australia?

In a statement, a Jeep Australia official confirmed the pics are in fact the Grand Commander. However, the spokesperson quickly hosed down any thought of the Chinese market model arriving in local showrooms.

“These development vehicles were in Australia undertaking heat testing. The Grand Commander is built in China, for the Chinese market only,” the statement reads.

Scope for an Australian market seven-seat Jeep  remains strong, though stakeholders aren’t confirming anything official at this stage.

Given the new Grand Commander’s China-only direction, western markets such as the USA are likely to get all-new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models as their large Jeep SUV offerings.

The Grand Wagoneer and regular Wagoneer models would have appeal in the Australian market but are not yet officially confirmed for right-hand production.

It remains to be seen if the Grand Commander name will be adopted globally or whether Jeep’s big new seven-seat luxury SUV is called the Grand Wagoneer elsewhere.