Jeep is making big promises that 2018 will be the year that the US classic brand finally breaks into the UK market, and they could be set to diversify from their traditional 4x4 options.
Owned by Fiat Chrysler, the brand is famous for the bigger statement vehicles, but with an owner like Fiat, that has spent the last 10 years producing some fairly successful mini cars, it kind of makes sense.
Fiat Chrysler will be making a big announcement on 1st June, which is expected to be an announcement of the company’s five-year plan, of which Jeep is playing a very large part.
A smaller vehicle for Jeep, based on the Fiat Panda platform, is muted and Jeep CEO Mike Manley is even talking about the prospect, telling Autocar that: 'A smaller car than the Renegade is very interesting to us and we are actively looking at the project now. We’ve seen the general move in Europe towards smaller SUVs, and there could also be a market in Latin America.'
The experiment for a smaller Jeep is likely to be limited to Europe in the short-term, an appetite for smaller Jeeps is not one that expected to take off in its homeland, whilst China’s smaller SUV market is thriving, but with domestic models.
Jeep’s current smallest vehicle is the Renegade, which opens at £17,295 in the UK, only three grand more than the Panda and £1500 higher than the Panda Cross, so there is some synergy in the prices.
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