AUBURN HILLS, MI – Jeep’s new boss lays out plans for the Stellantis brand to regain lost sales and market share by adding new products and cutting prices on many existing models.
“The brand is not where it should be in market share, although it has a strong following,” Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa tells a media gathering at Stellantis’ North American headquarters here, where journalists also got a look at two battery-electric vehicles – Jeep’s first – due out this year.
“We need to do something on market penetration,” says Filosa who has headed Jeep for three months after serving as the brand’s chief operating officer in South America.
His battlefield plan to beef up sales this year includes:
- Adding $3,000 more in standard content on the new '24 Jeep Wrangler.
- Reducing the Gladiator midsize pickup’s sticker by an average of $1,700 while adding $3,000 in standard content.
- Rolling back the Grand Cherokee’s price by up to $4,000.
- Lowering the Compass sticker by an average of $2,500, bringing the price to $26,000, which Filosa says is “perfect” for the least expensive Jeep in the eight-vehicle lineup.
He says lowering production costs, using different materials, increasing manufacturing efficiencies and cutting new deals with suppliers will help offset the product price cuts.
Jeep sold 642,924 vehicles in the U.S. last year, 6% fewer than 2022, according to Wards Intelligence. Taking the biggest hits were the midsize Cherokee SUV and Gladiator midsize truck, off 39% and 29.1% respectively, according to Wards.
Since its reintroduction in 2021, the Ford Bronco, with sales of 127,758 last year, has become a major competitor of Jeep.
As chief operating officer of Jeep in South America for five years, Italian-born Filosa (pictured, below) oversaw the building of a new plant and spearheaded market share in Brazil from less than 1% to 20%, he says.
His turnaround strategy as head of the brand includes beefing up marketing and advertising, streamlining trim packages and establishing an industrial quality team.
Jeep currently sells plug-in hybrid electric-vehicle versions of its fullsize Grand Cherokee and midsize Wrangler. The latter is the best-selling PHEV in the U.S., Filosa says. “We think we’ll sell 180,000 PHEVs this year.”
The brand plans to introduce two fully electric new models: the Recon at the end of the year and the Wagoneer S in the second quarter. Both are being built on Stellantis’ new STLA-Large BEV platform.
Technical specifications are to come for both battery-electric vehicles, but Filosa says the Wagoneer S will be “the fastest Jeep ever” with 600 hp and a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration under 3.5 seconds.
His new Jeep strategy includes bringing aboard new team members, such as Bill Peffer, formerly CEO of Maserati-Americas and now head of the Jeep brand in North America.
Peffer replaces Jim Morrison who now leads Jeep Performance Parts. Filosa replaces Christian Meunier as Jeep CEO.
“We want to respect the core of Jeep – its history, legacy community – while broadening its reach,” Filosa says.
He refers to Jeep’s origins as a military vehicle in World War II. “Jeep helped win the war. No (other automotive brand) can claim that.”
