Stellantis promised to make waves when the firm revealed that it intended to launch a full-scale assault on the EV market with an army of BEV offerings. While we have seen a few of these models in concept form, Stellantis kept the production versions of these models largely out of the public eye. That’s starting to change though with the Jeep brand releasing a pair of images of its first production EV SUV.
Aiming For The Compact Segment
The SUV in today’s images doesn’t have a name yet, but we can still dissect some of the goals that Jeep is trying to accomplish here. The SUV wears a cheery shade of yellow and it appears to be roughly the size of a Jeep Compass which would put it in the compact side of the utility market. This small size would allow it to compete with rivals like the Hyundai Kona and Ioniq 5 EVs as well as the Subaru Solterra.
The design retains its strong link to Jeep’s heritage with the chunky lines being accented by a modernized (and non-functional) version of Jeep’s trademark slotted grille as well as split headlights. The side profile features plenty of plastic cladding and the rear looks like it’s a mixture of cues from both the Jeep Renegade and the Compass with the former’s “X” design motif being included in the light housing. The rear door has a hidden handle in the C-Pillar and Jeep stylists even added a contrast-colored roof in an attempt to win over style-conscious buyers, especially younger buyers that will play a key role in Jeep’s EV revolution.
It will be interesting to see if this EV has some trail capability baked into it but look for it to most likely be a pavement-focused creation that’ll be more than enough to take on the urban jungle.
When Will We See it?
Jeep revealed that the unnamed EV will make its appearance next year, but chose not to dive deep into performance specs in today’s announcement. With the compact dimensions here, there’s a chance that the new model could be built on the all-new STLA small platform. Separate reports and Stellantis disclosures have confirmed that the platform can handle battery packs that boast 37 to 82 kWh of juice which would give a model on this platform up to 300 miles of range between charges. That figure would be on target with estimates but we will have to wait until we hear more to truly know what this EV is packing under its Jeep bodywork.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.