While other Stellantis brands are championing loosening of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy guidelines and penalties under the Trump administration, Jeep is carving its own path, powered by gas and electricity.
Nowhere was the more apparent than at the LA Auto Show in Los Angeles this week where the 84-year old brand debuted the Recon battery-electric SUV and displayed it alongside the refreshed Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer.
All three deliver gas-powered powertrain alternative solutions for customers for the 2026 model year. The Cherokee is available as a hybrid. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee has three models that can be plugged in to charge and run about 25 miles on electric-only power before the gas engine kicks in.
Grand Wagoneer will be available with an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) propulsion system that uses the engine to power up a battery that then uses electric-only power to turn the wheels. EREVs are popular in China and gaining some momentum globally as some governments accept that an only electric vehicle future is further away than originally forecasted.
The battery-electric Recon delivers extreme off-road prowess in a family-friendly package with 250 miles of all-electric range.
“Jeep’s expansive mix of powertrains reflects as much improvisation as intent. The brand didn’t exactly set out to build this blend of gas, hybrid, plug-in, range-extended, and full-electric — it evolved that way over years of changing leadership and shifting priorities. But sometimes luck meets timing, and the upcoming Recon captures that moment. It’s a fully electric SUV that leans into Jeep’s off-road ethos while shaping the next phase of its electrification story,” Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific, told Newsweek.
“That powertrain diversity is both a risk and a strength: it can overcomplicate and confuse Jeep’s message and lineup, yet it also gives the brand flexibility to meet customers wherever they are on the road to electrification. The larger challenge now is rebuilding consumer and dealer confidence after years of instability, and to do that, Jeep needs to prove it can consistently and credibly execute across all these technologies,” Waatti said.
Stellantis has faced its fair share of relationship woes with U.S. dealers in recent years, culminating in the September 2024 open letter from the Stellantis National Dealer Council that accused then-CEO Carlos Tevares of deprioritizing and damaging the company’s U.S.-based brands, including Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler. At that point, Jeep sales had been in decline for five years.
That letter was part of a larger movement that eventually saw Tavares ousted and replaced by Antonio Filosa after a months-long process.
“The tide is turning very much when it comes to dealers,” Bob Borderdorf, Jeep CEO, told Newsweek. “I think the confidence continues to come. You see dealer engagement growing. Dealer orders are through the roof.”
Borderdorf replaced Filosa as Jeep CEO when Filosa was elevated to lead all of Stellantis.
Jeep’s new CEO told Newsweek that he is optimistic about how Recon will be received by the public after hearing from company stakeholders when they first experienced the Recon weeks ago. He noted that the Recon will appeal to those who want a “Jeep lifestyle” that allows them to go off-road and on-road. “It’s actually capable,” he said.
He thinks there are different types of people that will shop for the Recon, those Jeep lifestyler seekers, those that want to enjoy open-air driving and those that Borderdorf calls “mainstream EV people that may want something different.”
“It’s gonna be super interesting to see where the inflow of customers come from,” Broderdorf said. “I don’t think that I’ve had a car—maybe my entire career—that’s that interesting.”
Being dynamic and responsive will help Jeep as its order banks for new vehicles fill up and then the models hit the road, Waatti believes. “Jeep’s path to electrification has been messy, but so has the rest of the industry’s. In a market chasing perfect plans that don’t exist, its strength lies in adapting and learning as it goes, while proving that progress doesn’t have to come at the expense of identity,” he said.