New Jeep Grand Wagoneer closer
Three-row flagship closer as boss says there's room for ‘sportier’ JeepsJeep’s Grand Wagoneer is edging closer. That’s the message from the brand’s global boss, Mike Manley.
Long on the ex-patriot Englishman’s wish list for the Jeep brand, the vehicle now looks set to debut in late 2015 for a 2016 on-sale.
Manley says the full-size three-row SUV is a key part of the brand’s plan for growth — especially in markets like the USA and Australia.
It will also play the role of the marque’s flagship, to compete at the premium end of the SUV market, says Manley.
Still to appear even in concept form, the seven- or perhaps eight-seater is a potentially replacement for the Wrangler at Jeep’s Toledo (Ohio) plant.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles President and CEO Sergio Marchionne flagged this move in press briefings at Paris.
“With Grand Cherokee we’ve proven we can compete at the very premium end of the segment. The cross shop we have with, for example, BMW [X5] is phenomenal. In the USA it’s our most cross-shopped vehicle,” Manley told media in a Jeep roundtable at the French show.
“Range Rover and Jeep have historical competed. Some of that competition has not been so evident because either we’ve been through product portfolio changes or they have been through product portfolio changes. But they are the only other pure SUV brand in the world so they will always be competition.
“I’ve always talked about Grand Wagoneer and that for me is a big focus and it will fill out the [Jeep] brand at the top end
“Obviously I have intimate knowledge of what it is and I think that vehicle could very, very effectively compete with premium SUVs,” he opined.
Manley confirmed Jeep will sell more than one million vehicles in 2014 and is aiming to almost double that by 2018.
Growth will come from an expansion of markets and models, he says. Key growth markets like Brazil have low penetration by Jeep. The new compact SUV Renegade is also a key change agent for the marque’s volumes —even in the USA.
“When I think about going from one million [units] to 1.9 million, I don't think it’s easy — that would be wrong — but I think we have some very solid building blocks in place,” Manley told motoring.com.au.
Manley would not reveal Jeep’s global target for 2015 but stated simply: “There’s a lot of expectation for us to continue to grow.”
One other potential area of product expansion could be a range of sportier Jeep models.
BMW’s recently added an X4 alongside its segment-bending X6 and Mercedes-Benz is also entering the ‘off-road coupe’ ranks.
Manley says such vehicles would fit well in a future Jeep portfolio.
“Sure, definitely,” Manley said when quizzed on the logic of such an addition.
“It’s in my head… The Grand Cherokee SRT plays an important part of the range.
“If you consider the styling of Cherokee and Renegade, there’s perhaps [even] more of a market in D [segment] than E SUV [for sportier models].
“I think it can fit with the brand,” he said.
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