Key Takeaways

• Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa aims to transform Jeep into a global success.
• Filosa admits killing off the Cherokee hurt the brand.
• Targeting global sales of two million vehicles and one million US sales by 2030.
• Adapting to market needs and introducing a variety of drivetrain options is key to success.

After a successful tenure as CEO of Stellantis South America, Antonio Filosa now faces a great challenge: turning the Jeep brand into an international success. The newly-appointed chief executive has set some lofty goals, which include doubling global sales to two million vehicles by the end of the decade.

Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Filosa laid out his plans for the brand. At the helm of the American automaker, the CEO aims to take US sales beyond the one-million mark and double its market share in Europe, which, historically, has avoided American cars.

Filosa says new products (like the electric Recon and Wagoneer S) will help drive profitability and volume. While Jeep sales have been stagnating, the CEO noted that the automaker saw growth in the first quarter, with a sales increase of 3% in the United States.

Three Pillars Of Growth

While new vehicles are important, Filosa says the company’s future growth is based on three pillars. The first is to localize production of its current vehicles to bring costs down. He believes that while the products are strong, production costs are prohibitively high in certain markets.

“If you want to grow in more competitive markets, you need a lower cost base,” he said.

“For example, with the right cost base, Jeep had a 4.4 market share in Latin America last year, better than the 4% in the US.”

The second pillar has to do with powertrain flexibility. While electrification is very important, consumer buying habits have shown manufacturers that the world isn’t ready to go all-electric just yet. Several brands, including General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, have implemented new strategies, focusing more on hybrids and PHEVs, not just pure EVs.

Offering Drivetrains To Suit Most Needs

Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 plan aims for 50% of US sales (and 100% of European sales) to be fully electric by 2030. Filosa noted that while the company’s long-term strategy had not changed, certain adjustments have to be made now in order to stimulate growth. If Jeep and Stellantis see a slot in the market for a combustion-engined vehicle, they will take the opportunity.

Filosa referenced the Avenger, which was initially introduced as an EV only. “The European market as a whole was not ready for an electric-only Avenger, this we should have launched a gasoline version sooner in Italy, Spain, and Poland. Lesson learned,” he added.

Previously, Filosa mentioned that a Jeep plug-in hybrid would arrive in 2025. This is likely the Gladiator PHEV; this more efficient version would bolster appeal and drive up sales. One only needs to look at the Wrangler 4xe to realize this makes sense. Later this year, Jeep will launch the Recon and Wagoneer S, aiming to sell 10,000 battery-electric vehicles before year-end.

Filosa describes plug-in hybrids as “a good, very versatile transition technology and notes he covers his 22-mile commute on all-electric power while driving his Grand Cherokee 4xe.

Killing Off The Cherokee Hit Jeep Where It Hurts

The final and most important pillar is having an SUV in important segments. Filosa attributes the brand’s declining US sales (from 86% to 52%) to the loss of the Cherokee. Midsized SUVs are essentially a license to print money, and without one, the Toledo-based brand lost out.

While the discontinuation of the Renegade did the brand no favors (in terms of sales and market share), the lack of a Cherokee-sized vehicle affected the automaker most. “When you lose your main midsize SUV offer, you are cut off from a segment that in the US alone is worth more than 4 million units a year – which exceeds a good year for the entire German market and is the same size as the whole Latin American region.

A trademark application from 2022 suggests Jeep will reenter this important segment once more, possibly with a Liberty-badged SUV. For now, Filosa says the new Recon and Wagoneer S will claw back much-needed market coverage.

Jeep already builds its vehicles in six countries around the world, including the United States, India, and Brazil. Thanks to Stellantis’ far-reaching global factory network, Filosa can consider adding Jeep vehicles to facilities in Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa. This will make Jeeps more accessible to customers in these markets.

The marque cut ties with Chinese automaker GAC, ending a 12-year partnership that saw Jeeps being produced in China for the local market. Despite this, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee are still imported to the country. Filosa admits that while volumes are lower, profits are significantly higher than before.

“If I had to keep plants running in China, I would be facing price competition in the premium segment that reached 30 to 35 percent discounts. Could I be profitable there? I doubt it,” remarked the CEO.

What The Future Holds For Jeep

It remains to be seen whether this strategy can double Jeep’s global sales. The addition of a Cherokee-sized crossover SUV will go a long way in achieving those goals, particularly in America and Europe. The addition of EVs and a new PHEV will also help, as will the streamlining of its product portfolio.

Under Filosa’s guidance, the Wagoneer sub-brand will be scrapped, with Jeep’s largest luxury SUVs returning to the Jeep fold. While the idea of distancing its high-end offerings from lesser vehicles like the Wrangler and Renegade made sense on paper, it often left customers (and dealers) confused about the vehicle’s positioning in the lineup.

“We’re going to simplify our product range and do things like bringing the Jeep brand to Wagoneer, and converge it into the model lineup, which has been a question on a lot of people’s mind for a lot of years,” said Bill Peffer, Head of Jeep North America, earlier this year. “The dealers applauded when we said we were going to do that.”