Following years of declining sales, Jeep has finally discontinued the fifth-generation, KL Cherokee. The decision comes after Stellantis idled the Belvidere, Illinois, plant where the crossover is made.
Jeep first confirmed the news to The Drive, after the lineup was cut down significantly for the 2023 model year. We reached out to Jeep and a spokesperson told Carscoops that the plant “was idled at the end of February, and production of the 2023 Cherokee ended when the plant was idled”. However, Jeep informed us that a replacement is in the works: “We have plans for that important vehicle in that important segment. Details will be revealed in due time.”
For the last year of production, the automaker offered just two trim levels for the Cherokee —the Altitude Lux and Trailhawk—down from four in 2022.
Read: Jeep Cuts Cherokee Lineup Down To Two Trims And Increases Prices For 2023
The current, fifth-generation Cherokee was introduced in 2014, making it nearly a decade old today. Consequently, sales of the model have started to suffer and, in 2022, the automaker managed to sell just 40,000 examples in America, half as many as it did in 2021.
Despite the flagging sales, Jeep has maintained that the Cherokee, and the segment in which it competes, are important to it. Last summer, the head of Jeep’s North American division, Jim Morrison, said that the brand would follow it up with a next-generation model that would be “bigger and better than ever.” Another executive said that the vehicle will be electrified.
49 Years Old
Jeep first introduced the Cherokee in 1974, and it has been an important model to the brand ever since. Early on, it was marketed as the sportier, two-door trim level for the Wagoneer, but it became its own distinct model in 1984, pioneering the unibody SUV format that now dominates the automotive industry.
Although Jeep continued selling the Cherokee outside of North America, it was renamed the Liberty in the U.S. between 2002 and 2013. To a certain extent, the name was kept alive in North America during that time by the Grand Cherokee, which was and continues to be a larger, and wholly distinct model.
In 2021, the Cherokee Nation called on Jeep to stop using its name for its vehicles, but the automaker has so far shown no interest in heeding that request.
Although Jeep has not officially announced a followup for the Cherokee yet, more information on that score is expected this year. Announcements could start coming as soon as the New York Auto Show, which runs from April 7-16, 2023.
