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Jeep is cutting the Italy-built Renegade crossover from its lineup in the United States and Canada for 2024.
The Stellantis NV SUV brand said Monday in a statement from spokesperson Amy Delcamp that it’s focusing “its resources on SUV segments in North America that continue to grow.” Americans are an anomaly in the world, preferring larger trucks and SUVs.
The elimination will make the Mexico-built Jeep Compass that starts at $28,400 the new entry level for the brand. The Renegade starts at $28,445, according to Jeep’s website on Monday.
The move comes as Jeep’s U.S. sales have lagged in 2023. Antonio Filosa was named the new CEO of the brand in November, and William Peffer last week took over as its head in North America.
Jeep sales fell 9% year-over-year in the first nine months with the Renegade down 35%. Sales of the Compass, which got a refresh for 2022, are up 7%.
Renegade’s cancellation for the U.S. and Canadian markets comes after Jeep earlier this year ended production of the Cherokee crossover in Belvidere, Illinois. The company has said there will be a replacement for the Cherokee. In the automaker’s new contract with the United Auto Workers, it agreed to invest into the idled Illinois plant to build a midsize truck.
Jeep won’t have a smaller lineup for long, though. The brand in 2024 will be launching its first all-electric vehicles: the midsize Wagoneer “S” and Wrangler-inspired Recon off-roader. Stellantis sells a plug-in hybrid Renegade 4xe in Europe, but it never came to North America. Jeep says it will have an electrified variant for all of its vehicles by 2025.
Production of the Renegade will continue in Italy and Brazil and be available in Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia Pacifica.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
@BreanaCNoble
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