The race for the first cheap American EV is on. Ford is the current favorite with its “skunkworks” program, while Tesla limps along behind after totally not canceling its $25,000 car. But whaddya know, there’s now a third horse in the race! It’s Jeep, which promises it’ll deliver Americans an affordable electric SUV within just a few years.
Plans for the cheap, U.S.-bound EV were re-confirmed Thursday by Stellantis at an investor event, after CEO Carlos Tavares first hinted at the vehicle’s existence in May. Now we know that it’ll be named the Renegade, after one of the brand’s subcompact SUVs, and delivered “very soon”—though, in this case, that means no later than 2027. It’s unclear where the Renegade EV will be produced, which is important considering that it and its battery would need to be made stateside to capitalize on subsidies. We also don’t yet know how it figures to size up against the outgoing, decade-old Renegade, which starts a hair over $30K. It could even manifest as a tweaked Avenger, Jeep’s smallest SUV sold overseas, which comes in both all-electric and plug-in-hybrid forms.
However it arrives, the Renegade EV will be part of a drive to push Jeep‘s sales to one million vehicles annually in the U.S, by 2027, and 1.5 million globally. This will see its range expand from 10 to 13 nameplates, in part with the introduction of other EVs like the Recon and Wagoneer S. They will offer the full spectrum of powertrains, from pure combustion engines to full EVs, and everything in between.
Cost will be the most important attribute for Jeep’s cheap EV, as price has established itself to be one of the biggest hurdles to wider EV adoption. Mass-market EVs so far have been aimed at the premium segment, which has become oversaturated. Convoluted tax credit programs meant to support their purchase haven’t helped as much as they could have, either.
Cheap EVs are also of increasing political value to the United States, which is contending with the rapid rise of the Chinese auto industry and its cutting-edge, yet affordable EVs. Elements within both the federal government and U.S. industry (such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk) view Chinese EVs as a foundational threat to the domestic industry. As such, the federal government is trying to disincentivize their entry into the U.S. market by enacting tall trade barriers, such as a 100-percent import tariff. They’ll likely last at least as long as it takes for our country’s industry to rise to the occasion—and it seems Jeep intends to be part of that effort.
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