Jeep Wrangler News

Stellantis, the parent company that owns Jeep and Alfa Romeo among other car brands, will discontinue the sale of all plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) in North America.In a statement issued by Stelantis the company cited a lack of demand for PHEVs as the reason for its decision to remove them from sale.“With customer demand shifting, Stellantis will phase out plug‑in hybrid (PHEV) programs in North America beginning with the 2026 model year, and focus on more competitive electrified solutions, including hybrid and range‑extended vehicles where they best meet customer needs.”Stellantis confirmed the decision would see plug-in hybrid versions of models discontinued, including the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and Alfa Romeo Tonale.Stellantis blames customer demand, but sales show the Wrangler 4xe to be the best-selling plug-in hybrid in the United States. Stellantis has been plagued with hybrid woes in the US, with the company issuing a recall as recently as November 2025 for a potential fire risk that affected more than 320,000 vehicles across the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and Wrangler 4xe ranges. In September, 2025, Jeep announced it would discontinue its plans for a PHEV version of its Gladiator ute before it had even gone into production.The move to pull PHEVs from its brands in the US is at odds with global trends, which show sales of hybrids, particularly PHEVs, increasing as demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) wanes.Stellantis said it will focus on building its BEV and regular hybrid ranges in North America. Stellantis’ decision to discontinue PHEVs in the US doesn’t affect Australia’s Jeep range mainly because the Jeep Grand Cherokee was axed in 2025, including the 4xe, and the Wrangler isn’t offered with plug-in hybrid power.The Jeep Compass is offered as a PHEV in Australia and will continue to be even when the new generation arrives because it will be produced in Europe and won’t be affected by the company’s US decision. Meanwhile the Avenger SUV is the only BEV offered by Jeep in Australia.As for the Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV this was axed from the brand’s Australian line-up in 2025.

In the years since the likes of GWM and MG established a beachhead for Chinese automotive brands in the local new car market a slew of others have followed.Economics 101 says increased competition in a mature market will quickly stimulate activity, generating big winners and significant losers.And the reality of 2025’s vehicle registration data, compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI VFacts) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), has graphically validated that economic theory.More than 30 of the 60 passenger car and light commercial brands monitored by VFacts and the EVC went backwards in terms of sales volume in 2025 compared to 2024.But the winners were BIG, the top two improvers experiencing spectacular growth; the overall champ almost sending the needle off the clock.Of course, some were coming off a relatively small sales base, with increasing supply and expanding model line-ups inflating percentage figures. So, for context, we’ll also note outright volume increases and only include brands that recorded full-year sales in 2024.Here are our top five countdowns for biggest new car sales winners and losers in 2025.5) Rolls-Royce: Okay, it’s 13 extra cars for 2025 over 2024, but when each one of them retails for a minimum of $700K that’s some handy incremental profit margin. Obviously, for a select few it’s a case of ‘cost-of-living crisis be damned’, with no less than eight extra Cullinan SUVs and the same number of sedans finding a home last year. 4) Mini: A big year for Mini, including a major JCW-focused refresh across the range as well as a burst of sales for the pure-electric Aceman line-up. There were substantial boosts for the Cabrio (+100 per cent), Cooper (+45.2 per cent) and Countryman (+19 per cent).   3) Polestar: It was a case of swings and roundabouts for the Swedish EV specialist with the Polestar 2 liftback dropping sales while the larger 3 and 4 SUVs expanded total numbers by close to 40 per cent. Stand by for the performance-focused Polestar 5 GT’s impact when it arrives here mid-year.2) BYD: Market appetite for BYD’s products grew in parallel with its model range, the Chinese giant’s Aussie line-up expanding from four to eight models. Newcomers like the Atto 1, Atto 2 and Sealion 7 grew its share of the pie dramatically, but the star of the show was the Shark 6 hybrid ute, racking up more than 18,000 sales for the year.1) Chery: The sharply-priced Tiggo 4 Pro small SUV has proved a smash hit for Chery with sales building steadily over 2025, to the point where it’s nipping at the heels of the category-leading Hyundai Kona and MG ZS. Adding the large Tiggo 9 large SUV also delivered handy incremental sales.5) Suzuki: Despite the addition of the Fronx small hybrid SUV mid-year (which captured a handy 1667 sales) the evergreen Japanese brand went backwards in 2025, with stocks of the discontinued Ignis dwindling, Swift sales decreasing and even the cult-favourite Jimny in decline.   4) Jaguar: Kind of a no-brainer given the brand very publicly pulled the pin on production of everything except the F-Pace SUV for 12 months in preparation for a new, more premium range ramping up through 2026 and 2027. The big surprise is sales of the E-Pace growing four per cent year-on-year despite the manufacturing halt. Must have been a few in stock.  3) Maserati: Sales volume dropping by close to a third is rarely a good thing but with the Maserati Levante SUV falling off the radar there weren’t enough Grecale SUV buyers ready to pick up the slack. The Granturismo and Grancabrio coupe and convertible GTs were also missing in action creating a low ebb for the iconic Italian. 2) Jeep: Speaking of iconic brands, Jeep has been fighting well-publicised head winds in its US home market thanks to a seemingly ill-advised move to a more premium positioning with prices to match. Despite a slight sales uptick for the Grand Cherokee as it leaves the local stage, serious falls for the Wrangler 4WD and Gladiator ute also took the wind out of Jeep’s sales here.1) Lotus: Who would have thought a brand famous for simplifying and adding lightness in producing race-ready sports cars would be punished for heading down the pure-electric path with a heavy SUV (Eletre) and big four-door GT (Emeya). Even the internal-combustion mid-engine Emira (despite a stay of production execution) dropped by more than 50 per cent.   

To write that Jeep is in trouble is not news. The American off-road brand has been in major decline in the Australian market for years.The real question is — can Jeep survive 2026? Because there is some hope beyond that, but first Jeep must make it there.Instead of thriving in this SUV-dominant era, Jeep has found itself struggling to retain buyers or find news ones. The decision to drop the Grand Cherokee, once the backbone of the brand in Australia and the best-selling large SUV just over a decade ago, was seen as a sign parent company, Stellantis, is preparing a retreat from Australia.The brand is adamant that is not the case and the late 2025 introduction of the 2026 Gladiator and the incoming updated Wrangler are a sign the brand isn't ready to quit yet.Jeep could continue on selling its two core models, the reality is those would be lucky to each pass 1000 sales annually, leaving the brand in a precarious position with the Grand Cherokee gone.Instead, Jeep has to spend 2026 holding on for a better future. There is hope on the horizon, in the form of the new-generation Compass, which was revealed in early 2025 and was originally touted as coming in ‘26, but a Jeep Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide no official timing has been locked in.While it could sneak in by the end of ‘26, it’s more likely to be ‘27 by the time the Compass arrives. When it does, it would finally give the brand a fresh small SUV to compete in one of the biggest segments of the market, where the current model is literally one of the least popular models.The new Compass is bigger and more spacious than the current model and sits on the same underpinnings as the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008, so it will introduce European-style ride and comfort; something that could help woo buyers back to Jeep.Fortunately for Jeep Australia, while there will be an all-electric variant, Jeep is also offering the new Compass with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains to give it broad appeal.Will this be enough to revive Jeep’s fortunes in Australia? Unfortunately not, at least not unless the new Compass is a runaway sales success. But it does have the potential to give the brand a much needed boost.Certainly more than the electric Avenger has done or the possible addition of the Recon mid-size electric SUV or larger, more premium Wagoneer S have the potential to do.It’s telling that the Grand Cherokee is on-track to remain the brand’s best-selling model in 2025, despite being axed as early as March. The Wrangler may be iconic, but it’s an extremely niche vehicle, and the same is true of the Gladiator.Perhaps the biggest problem for Jeep Australia is that the problems aren’t local. Jeep is struggling in its home market, and naturally that is where the focus will be to ensure the long-term survival of a brand that was forged in battle but has become a synonym for off-roaders.Like so many brands it got caught up in the excitement/legislation around electric vehicles and strayed too far from its core principles, wasting billions of dollars on 4xe vehicles that are so far proving to be deeply unpopular; certainly the Grand Cherokee 4xe did not find its mark in Australia.Stellantis is now looking to invest many more billions into reinvigorating Jeep’s US manufacturing operations, to try and revive its sales at home. What that means for Jeep in Australia remains unclear, but 2026 will all be about hanging on and hoping for a brighter future.

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Mahindra has confirmed that the long-awaited Thar will not be sold in Australia in its current form. The rugged, body-on-frame wagon was expected to arrive sometime this year in traditional three-door and extended-body five-door wagon guises.

Mahindra has finally confirmed that the Jeep Wrangler-style body-on-frame Thar as we know it will not be imported to Australia.

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At the start of this month Jeep’s parent company Stellantis announced the iconic Grand Cherokee large SUV would be discontinued in Australia.While axing the second best-selling model of a brand that was already struggling might seem like a good way to accelerate the demise of Jeep in Australia, it won’t. That’s because Jeep has something left that many brands have never had. Stellantis's Grand Cherokee announcement was both a shock and unsurprising at the same time. It was like hearing that your professional stunt actor friend had broken every bone in their body again, but they would probably be alright. It was coming and so was the Grand Cherokee’s axing.The surprising part of the Grand Cherokee's demise was that the new-generation version had only just arrived in Australia - well it was less than two years ago in 2023 with the 4xe plug-in hybrid variant following later in the year.What’s thrown most people is that the Grand Cherokee had a hugely successful past in Australia. In 2014 it was the best-selling large SUV under $70K, beating even Toyota’s Prado for the year with 16,582 sold.A big part of the previous-gen Grand Cherokee's allure was the price which, thanks to the strong Australian dollar, meant you could get into an entry grade Laredo for $47,000. Compared to the Japanese models which dominated the market at the time the Grand Cherokee felt like a lot of car for the money.Big, luxurious, comfortable and with a range of engines that stepped all the way up to a high-performance Hemi V8 in the SRT, many buyers found the Grand Cherokee more desirable than a Mazda CX-9 or Toyota Kluger and more affordable than SUVs with Mercedes-AMG, BMW M or Audi RS badges.That was it in a nut shell. Grand Cherokee was a flash in the pan for Australia that led to a surge in growth for Jeep, but there wasn't much to follow it up. Apart from a disastrous reliability record for the Grand Cherokee which saw recall after recall. Even after this new fifth-generation Grand Cherokee launched the 4xe was recalled in the United States due to 13 separate fires.If you’re superstitious then you’d believe the Grand Cherokee was cursed.Parent company Stellantis would not go into why the Grand Cherokee was pulled from sale in Australia other than to say it was looking for a more relevant model for the market.“As we look to right-size the Jeep product portfolio to match local market dynamics and customer preferences, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause availability of the current model Jeep Grand Cherokee  in Australia,” a Stellantis spokesperson said."While the Jeep Grand Cherokee will continue to be sold in many countries around the world, this decision allows us to focus our efforts on placing the right products in the right segments that can have the greatest relevance for our customers."Of course as any PR person would say Jeep remains committed to Australia, the spokesperson told us."The Jeep brand remains fully committed to the Australian market and Stellantis continues to invest heavily in its global product portfolio,” the brand’s spokesperson said.'Committed' as long as there’s a business case for staying is what this really means and there’s nothing wrong with that logic.Why Jeep will likely stay in Australia isn’t because a new model like the new electric Wagoneer S is just around the corner. It's because Jeep offers something many brands don't have - a lifestyle identity. Jeep’s Wrangler off-roader is central to this ethos and the connection the SUV has with cultural identity is important in its lineage back to the World War II Willys Jeep and forward to 21st century adventurers and the perceived freedom that goes with the lifestyle. The appeal is almost a rebellious one against the wrapped-in-cotton-wool safety standards of less adventurous SUVs that are seemingly secure so as to cut off all contact with the outside world. The Wrangler on the other hand has doors and a windscreen that can literally be removed. That emotional ingredient is a quality only some car brands have. Ford has its Mustang,  Toyota has the LandCruiser, Nissan the Patrol and even Subaru has the WRX . All offer more than just transport but membership to a club.Of course there needs to be regular buyers who give the brand huge spikes in sales, as was experienced by the Grand Cherokee.And while sales of Jeep's other models aren't outstanding among rival brands, they don't appear to be dangerously low either. Last year's total sales amounted to 2377 and that was 492 for Compass, 151 for the Gladiator, 646 for Grand Cherokee and 724 for the Wrangler.Citroen, which is also owned by Stellantis but imported through a different operator - Inchcape - was pulled out of Australia last year after selling just 147 vehicles.So we know where the line is and currently Jeep is not in danger of crossing it. Still, the brand needs another model to boost sales again and it's unlikely to be the just-arrived Avenger EV which will be up against more affordable small electric Chinese SUVs.So while Stellantis searches for another hit model, Jeep will be supported by the emotional engagement and identity it brings to those drawn to a life of adventure, even if their real life is mainly spent in an office or in traffic. 

At the start of 2024 we asked the question ‘is Jeep lost?’ and the answer has categorically come back in the affirmative. The American brand is, to put it bluntly, in trouble and there doesn’t appear to be an obvious solution.

In the face of ever-tightening vehicle emission performance standards for car and light commercial vehicles applied by the EU’s European Commission and growing inventory, particularly in North America, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker Stellantis has decided to reduce production of selected petrol and diesel models across its brand portfolio.