Jeep will be the most globally recognised SUV brand, but in Australia its sales have slid alarmingly.
It has been a mix of things: soaring prices for staple models just like the Wrangler; a scarcity of models suitable for our market; and a fame haunted by the ghosts of the brand’s over-expansion within the early 2010s and the poor customer support it offered following well-publicised issues with the previous-generation WK Grand Cherokee.
After reaching a height of 30,408 sales in 2014, Jeep sales have declined yearly other than a modest bump in 2020 and a bigger rise in 2021.
Subsequent to this, sales have resumed their downward slide, slumping to 1682 units in 2025 – the brand’s worst 12 months in Australia, not less than way back to VFACTS records go to 1997.
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Jeep’s dealer network has continued to shrink. In 2021 it had 65 nationwide; by early 2025 it had shrunk to 44. The one confirmed recent model launch for Jeep this 12 months is the third-generation Compass, however the brand has yet to verify more specific launch timing.
All of this has fuelled speculation Jeep might be withdrawn from the Australian market.
It’s hard to disregard the dire straits the brand appears to be in Down Under, nonetheless, let’s not forget that three other Stellantis-owned brands distributed by the automaker – Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Fiat – have long been low-volume players.
Is Jeep simply being shrunk down from a full-line, widely available brand to more of a boutique player?
In spite of everything, it might be embarrassing for Stellantis to concede in SUV-loving Australia that it will possibly’t sell certainly one of the world’s best-known SUV brands.
Jeep could have baggage, but there are products in its global portfolio that might give it a sales boost. And no, we aren’t talking concerning the brand’s electric vehicles (EVs).
The electrical Wagoneer S, which starts at US$65,200 and subsequently might be a circa-$100,000 proposition in Australia, doesn’t look like the reply even when it does have handsome styling and powerful performance.
The electrical Recon has an almost an identical price tag within the US. While its off-road ability and Wrangler-style removable doors would give it a novel selling proposition in Australia, it appears unlikely so as to add much sales volume.
Listed below are the five vehicles we predict would do higher to vary Jeep’s fading fortunes.
Avenger petrol, mild-hybrid
Jeep Australia’s most cost-effective model is presently the electrical Avenger Longitude, which starts at $49,990 before on-road costs, and measures just over 4 metres long.
While for several months it has been offered for $40,000 drive-away, it’s still a far cry from when Jeep was offering sub-$40k Compasses as recently as 2022 and sub-$30k Renegades within the mid-2010s.
The Avenger has proved a robust seller in Europe but has been a fizzer in Australia – Jeep delivered just 79 examples in 2024, 97 in 2025, and 13 to this point this 12 months.
It’s a small front-wheel drive electric SUV in a market brimming with Chinese rivals which might be cheaper and better-equipped. Swap the electrical powertrain for a petroleum one and alter the worth to at least one starting with a ‘3’ and the Avenger could do higher.
In Europe, the Avenger is obtainable with just that: a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-pot, mated with either a six-speed manual transmission, or a six-speed e-dual-clutch auto and a 48V mild-hybrid system.
There’s even a 4xe mild-hybrid version, which is the one technique to get an Avenger with all-wheel drive. With total a system output of 107kW, it’s not a fire-breather, but then the Avenger is barely 4m long and even with the all-wheel drive system it weighs lower than the electrical version at 1475kg.
The Avenger e-Hybrid would still be sourced out of Poland, and subsequently subject to a five per cent import duty that impacts how affordably it might be priced here. However it could give Jeep a cheaper entry-level option, something the brand badly needs, given its claims of being a premium brand simply don’t appear to resonate with Australian buyers.
Crucially, this prolonged Avenger lineup is obtainable in right-hand drive and Jeep Australia has previously indicated it’s the choices.
Wrangler 392
Value-priced vehicles from the likes of GWM and BYD are muscling into Jeep’s established off-road turf, but there’s one thing they don’t have yet (and within the case of BYD, never will): a V8 engine.
That’s where the currently left-hand drive-only Wrangler has an ace up its sleeve. Powering the Wrangler Moab 392 is a naturally aspirated 6.4-litre petrol V8 pumping out 350kW of power and 637Nm of torque.
It’s mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive, and offers the Wrangler a claimed 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of 4.5 seconds.
Is that far an excessive amount of power for a Wrangler? Probably. But this is able to give Jeep a thoroughly unique halo model, and its first V8-powered model in Australia because the last examples of the WK2 Grand Cherokee.
Unfortunately, it’s only available in left-hand drive. That makes it yet one more intriguing Wrangler powertrain we’ve missed out on attributable to the dearth of a right-hook version, following the now-defunct 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 and a couple of.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder plug-in hybrid versions.
Cherokee
Astonishingly, Jeep – arguably certainly one of the world’s two best-known SUV brands – doesn’t have an entrant in Australia’s largest SUV segment by volume.
The last (KL) Cherokee had been left to wither on the vine, with Jeep axing it Down Under in 2022 and pulling the plug on production globally in 2023.
After an uncomfortably long hiatus, Jeep within the US re-entered the mid-size (compact over there) SUV segment for 2026 with the brand new KM-series Cherokee. Not only does Jeep finally have a mid-size SUV again, but that is the primary Cherokee with a hybrid powertrain.
Great news for Australia right? Given our love of mid-size SUVs and hybrid powertrains – particularly when the 2 are combined – the brand new Cherokee appeared like a sure thing. Alas, Jeep confirmed it’s one other LHD-only model.
Riding the identical STLA Large platform because the Jeep Wagoneer S and Recon, and the Dodge Charger, the Cherokee includes a very different powertrain to any of those: a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder hybrid with total system outputs of 154kW and 312Nm.
It’s mated with a CVT auto, and Jeep claims combined fuel consumption of 6.4L/100km.
That’s not quite Toyota RAV4 thrifty, and the Cherokee doesn’t offer quite the extent of off-road ability of Jeep’s more rugged SUVs – though Jeep could potentially have a more capable Trailhawk variant within the works.
Measuring 4778mm long, it’s over 200mm longer than the brand new Compass, which is effectively a small mid-size SUV. That puts the Cherokee on the larger end of the mid-size SUV segment and, indeed, it’s almost so long as a Kia Sorento. It could subsequently give the brand new Compass some respiratory room.
If only the steering wheel was on the precise side…
Grand Cherokee
Jeep never introduced a turbo-diesel version of its current WL-series Grand Cherokee, and even the petrol V8 offered within the US never got here here.
The 5.7-litre Hemi V8 was phased out within the US market a couple of years ago, leaving a naturally aspirated 3.6-litre petrol V6 and the recently discontinued turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid. The V6 was replaced for 2026 with a brand new turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol 4, sans a plug-in hybrid system.
The WL was retired last 12 months from our market, ostensibly attributable to the tip of right-hand drive production. Australian buyers didn’t take to the WL with its alternative of petrol V6 or expensive turbocharged four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrains. So why would a turbo 4 change things?
Well, it’s entirely possible it wouldn’t… not less than not without much sharper pricing. Still, the turbo 4 looks to be a worthy substitute for the ageing Pentastar V6, if not able to addressing latent demand for a turbo-diesel Grand Cherokee.
Put aside any four-cylinder prejudice, and the turbocharged 2.0-litre Hurricane 4 from the Grand Cherokee has some impressive outputs.
It pumps out 238kW/450Nm, which is 28kW more power and 106Nm more torque than the old Pentastar V6 that lives on in entry-level versions of the massive SUV. That keeps it competitive with the likes of the upcoming 2.5-litre turbo-petrol Hyundai Palisade, in addition to the Mazda CX-90.
The facelifted 2026 Grand Cherokee has also received a bigger touchscreen and a few minor cosmetic tweaks to assist keep it fresh.
Jeep also recently hinted on the return of a V8 to the Grand Cherokee. Again, the petrol V8 wasn’t as popular because the turbo-diesel V6 within the old WK2 Grand Cherokee, nevertheless it would help the Jeep stand out in its segment – a segment it even led in sales at one point, and which it has now shockingly withdrawn from.
Grand Wagoneer
Toyota and to a lesser extent Nissan dominate the mainstream ‘upper large’ SUV segment, and few non-luxury brands have tried to tackle the Patrol and LandCruiser 300 Series. The GMC Yukon launched here last 12 months only in fancy Denali guise, with its sights set on luxury-brand models.
But a Jeep Grand Wagoneer could give Nissan and Toyota a compelling American-brand rival… or on the very least tackle the Yukon.
Just like the Yukon, it’s related to a pickup truck – on this case, the Grand Wagoneer is mechanically related to the Ram 1500. And just like the Yukon and 1500, it’s built only in left-hand drive, which might necessitate an area right-hand drive remanufacturing program like those two have.
Jeep’s full-size SUV range was launched within the US for 2022, with extended-length models lobbing the next 12 months.
Since launch, the available 5.7-litre and 6.4-litre V8 engines have been axed, leaving only six-cylinder power.
For 2026, the Wagoneer nameplate is being retired together with all models bearing the Grand Wagoneer name previously reserved for the fanciest variants. There are also cosmetic tweaks, including recent ‘Jeep’ badging because the brand has moved away from its aspirations of constructing Wagoneer a sub-brand.
The usual engine is a 313kW/635Nm tune of the three.0-litre twin-turbo Hurricane inline six. The high-output 403kW/706Nm version of this has been retired for 2026.
But the massive news is the launch of an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) version, sharing its powertrain with the Ram 1500 REV. It includes a 3.6-litre petrol V6, with mechanical power converted to electrical power via a 130kW generator.
This electrical power can in turn be used to charge the 92kWh battery pack, while two electric motors send drive to the wheels. Total system outputs are 482kW and 841Nm, with a claimed 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of 5 seconds.
The Grand Wagoneer is a giant ‘un – even the standard-length version measures 5489mm long and 2123mm wide on a 3124mm wheelbase, making it larger than the Yukon and positively dwarfing the LandCruiser. L versions are much more gargantuan at 5794mm long on a 3302mm wheelbase.
It will surely grab attention here, but don’t count on an Australian launch any time soon.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
