Jeep dominating plug-in hybrid market with 4xe strategy

It took the Jeep Wrangler 4xe less than one year to climb to the top of the U.S. plug-in hybrid market in 2021, and it has remained there ever since.

Why? It's just a really good Jeep, said Jim Morrison, the brand's North America head.

The Wrangler 4xe came to market later than other plug-in hybrids; Morrison said the brand refused to put the Jeep logo on a vehicle that didn't meet the trail-rated standards of its predecessors. The extra preparation time appears to be paying off, as the 4xe steadily grabs a larger share of Wrangler sales.

Making a more capable Jeep is always a plus, Morrison said, and the hybrid component is bringing "a lot of new customers into the brand that want electrified vehicles and that are only cross-shopping with electrified vehicles."

The Wrangler 4xe, Jeep's first plug-in model for the U.S., entered the fray two years ago backed by the brand's rugged cachet, a promise of elevating the nameplate's off-road capabilities and a marketing campaign touting quiet, eco-friendly trail excursions. With this formula, the Wrangler 4xe began an immediate ascension up the sales charts.

Initially offered on the Wrangler High Altitude, Rubicon and Sahara, the 4xe quickly became the most popular plug-in hybrid, with 2021 sales of about 29,000, Stellantis said. It accounted for 14 percent of total U.S. Wrangler volume.

Sales surged to more than 43,000 vehicles last year, representing nearly a quarter of all Wranglers.

Colorado retailer Brandon Moreland said he can't keep a Wrangler 4xe on his lot in the Rocky Mountains.

"The true Jeep enthusiasts love it because of the torque and power that it has," said Moreland, vice president of Moreland Auto Group, which has two Jeep stores and is building a third. "The 4xe has 470 [pound-feet of] torque on it compared to the regular turbo Wrangler [that] only has 295. They can rip through anything, they can go up hills easily."

Jeep's entrenchment in the plug-in hybrid market has become even clearer this year. Wrangler 4xe sales increased 72 percent in the first quarter, representing 38 percent of the total for the nameplate, and it was joined at the top by another Jeep, the Grand Cherokee 4xe that went on sale in late 2022. Jeep sold 7,222 Grand Cherokee 4xe models in the quarter, accounting for 13 percent of that nameplate's total volume.

Buyers of the two 4xe models can get a $7,500 federal tax credit only through Monday, April 17, when that amount is cut in half. Stellantis said the vehicles will remain eligible for up to $7,500 on leases.

Jeep expanded the Wrangler 4xe family by making the powertrain available on the Willys for the 2023 model year. The refreshed 2024 Wrangler will see the 4xe technology trickle down from the higher trim offerings to the Sport S. Pricing hasn't been revealed, but the four-door, gasoline-powered Sport S is $40,490 with shipping.

Current Wrangler 4xe models are priced from $7,600 to about $13,600 higher than their conventional equivalent, depending on trim level.

Morrison said consumers wanted Jeep to extend 4xe availability to lower trim levels.

"We're securing our customers that have had Wranglers in the past that want electrification, and there are some people that want to do entry level for it," he said. Jeep is "expanding the lineup for electrification, making it even easier for our dealers to have a fuller line and our customers to have an entry-level price point."

The appeal of the Wrangler 4xe is twofold, said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com. The additional torque that comes with an electrified powertrain makes it an ideal trail cruiser, but Brauer thinks the strategy also is succeeding by tapping into who Jeep customers are.

A contingent of Jeep buyers truly grasp the engineering component of vehicles and can identify what makes the 4xe tick, he said.

"There's a sophistication to a plug-in hybrid drivetrain," Brauer said. "The more engineering knowledge you've got, the more mechanically savvy you are, the more you appreciate that engineering, and I think Jeep buyers tend to have a better grasp on the benefits of a plug-in hybrid than a lot of other people."

While Jeep continues to establish itself in the plug-in hybrid market, the next phase for its portfolio is full electrification. The brand plans to debut its first two battery-electric vehicles for the U.S. in 2024, the Wrangler-inspired Recon and the midsize Wagoneer S crossover.

Jeep's hybrid 4xe lineup could serve as a bridge to BEVs, said Thomas Libby, S&P Global Mobility's associate director of industry analysis. The difference in the migration patterns to full EVs for households with conventional gasoline models and those that own plug-in hybrids is drastic, he said.

Registration data for the fourth quarter of 2022 shows 5.1 percent of households with a gasoline-powered vehicle in the garage that were back in the market for a new vehicle bought a BEV. That percentage jumps to 29 percent among households with a plug-in hybrid.

Libby said that Jeep is seeing the benefits of launching the 4xe line in the U.S. with its highest-profile models.

"These are helping them appeal to that environmentally conscious consumer, and they put them on probably their two most popular, iconic models," he said, "so it's helping the models, it's helping the brand and it's helping Stellantis' image."