Jeep Wrangler to go electric and range-extender from 2028
The Wrangler’s design won’t change much from today but powertrains will
Documents reveal Wrangler will go hybrid in 2025 then electric and Rex; new Jeeps will sit on ultra-strong platform
The next-generation Jeep Wrangler will go into production in 2028 with battery-electric and range-extender (REx) powertrains, in one of the most radical developments for the American off-roader since it was introduced in the 1980s.
Documents published as part of Jeep parent company Stellantis’s latest agreement with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) reveal the future of several of the firm’s US-built models, including the Wrangler.
The current generation of Wrangler includes a plug-in hybrid model, the 4xe, but this isn’t available in the UK. Along with its Gladiator pick-up truck sibling, the Wrangler will receive upgraded plug-in hybrid powertrains in 2025 (it remains to be seen whether the technical changes being brought in will enable right-hand-drive production) before being phased out in 2028, the documents reveal.
They will then be replaced by the new J70-generation Wrangler, with electric and ‘Range Electric Paradigm Breaker’ (Stellantis-speak for combustion-assisted electric) powertrains. The REx system will be used first in 2025 by the Ram 1500 REV, a pick-up truck based on the STLA Frame platform, which is also expected to underpin the electric Wrangler.
Part of a new family of EV architectures being applied to all Stellantis products from next year, this body-on-frame platform will major on payload and towing capabilities. For instance, the 1500 REV claims a 1224kg payload and a 6350kg towing capacity – significantly greater than the rival Ford F-150 Lightning’s.
The STLA Frame can also accommodate vast batteries to cope with the traditionally high mileages and heavy workloads of commercial vehicles. The 1500 REV will be offered with two long-range electric powertrains, with 168kWh and 229kWh batteries delivering 350 miles and 500 miles between charges.
Jeep has hinted at what to expect from an electric Wrangler several times, most recently with the Magneto 3.0 concept, an outlandish, Wrangler-based off-roader with 641bhp and 900lb ft from a bespoke axial-flux motor, driving, unusually, through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Before revealing the production Wrangler EV, Jeep will introduce a rugged electric SUV called the Recon, which promises comparable off-road ability but is based on Stellantis’s more road-focused, monocoque-construction STLA Large platform.
“The Recon in Europe will be a white-space car,” Jeep’s European boss Antonella Bruno told Autocar recently, confirming that the electric 4x4s could co-exist. “It’s a unique car, very boxy and very capable. It will sit in a lower part of the [market] segment to the Wrangler.”