Jeep Wrangler EV on its way

Jeep has big plans for its next generation of off-road vehicles, kicking off with its first-ever EV which looks set to debut as the US brand’s iconic Jeep Wrangler no later than 2025.

Hot on the heels of the three-door Jeep Magneto concept revealed in March at the Moab Jeep Safari in Utah, a new five-door concept has been exposed in a promotional video for the brand, as part of parent company Stellantis’ 2021 EV Day.

The footage shows a stripped-out five-door Jeep Wrangler with unique front-end styling including LED lights throughout its seven-slot grille, blue roof rails and the word ‘Freedom’ on its bonnet, hinting at how the new EV could look.

Jeep’s global boss Christian Meunier discussed “future proofing” the brand via electrification and declared that “by 2025 we’ll be offering a zero-emission, fully electric Jeep 4xe in every single SUV segment”.

As such, expect to see full-electric versions of the Jeep Compass, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee by 2025 as well.

While Jeep gave nothing away in terms of what powertrain the new Wrangler EV would deploy, it could be a development of the Jeep Magneto’s 213kW/370Nm single electric motor and 70kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

The system features an 800V electric architecture which should deliver super-fast battery charging capability.

Hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission and paired with a dual-range transfer case, 0-97km/h acceleration for the short-wheelbase Jeep Magneto is claimed to be 6.8 seconds.

Like that model, the long-wheelbase Wrangler EV teased in the video has an integrated front winch and all-terrain off-road tyres.

But Jeep doesn’t want to just offer a rough-and-ready 4x4 EV – it’s looking to innovative ideas to change the way people think about exploring away from the beaten track.

Some of the key features being spruiked for the futuristic Jeep Wrangler include autonomous off-road driving capability along with flat-seat ‘stargazing’, showing two occupants letting the vehicle do its thing as they watch the night sky.

The driverless vehicle tech is also shown collecting its owners at the end of a long hike.

Peer-to-peer charging to share power between vehicles (and potentially other appliances) is on the cards, along with remote vehicle tracking, integrated drones that light up off-road trails for night exploration and even biometric (facial) recognition to unlock and power up the vehicle.

Stellantis’ 2021 EV Day also uncovered the forthcoming new Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

Neither the Grand Cherokee 4xe nor its Wrangler 4xe hybrid cousin have been officially confirmed for the Australian market, but carsales understands the Grand Cherokee PHEV is still on track to launch here, potentially next year.

Strong demand for the Wrangler 4xe in the US, where it has fast become one of the biggest-selling PHEVs and has already pushed customer deliveries out to 2022, means it is not on the agenda for launch in Australia until late next year at the earliest.