Jeep has cut prices for many of its models in the United States after sales dipped for the fifth consecutive year. The carmaker has also revealed it will stop trying to position the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer as models from their luxury sub-brand and instead converge them into the regular Jeep family.
Last year, Jeep sold approximately 642,000 vehicles in the United States, a 6.1% decline from the previous year. While recently speaking with media members, Jeep chief executive Antonio Filosa acknowledged the brand needs to increase market penetration and its market share “because it’s not where this brand deserves to be.”
Pricing changes start with the Gladiator, where they have been slashed by $1,700, and extend to the Grand Cherokee, which is now $4,000 cheaper than previously, Auto News reports. Additionally, Jeep is cutting the price of the Compass by roughly $2,500 and offering an extra $3,000 in content on the Wrangler and Gladiator. Jeep will also cut factory costs by rearranging contracts with suppliers.
“We recognize that we need to grow in market share in the U.S., and inflation was such a big, negative hit for families and people here in the U.S. that we needed to do something,” Filosa said. “We’re rolling back prices, and we’re adding back value to 90 percent of our sales volume.”
“It’s a good first step,” Guidehouse Inc. analyst Sam Abuelsamid told The Detroit News. “They recognize they went too high up in price. They need to bring that down.”
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Filosa took charge of Jeep on November 1 and is also implementing changes to the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. These two models are the brand’s lowest-selling vehicles and feature very little Jeep branding. Starting with the all-electric Wagoneer S, the marque is “converging Wagoneer back into Jeep” and the models will feature more prominent Jeep branding while also benefiting from new marketing and advertising campaigns.
“This creates more clarity around the brand, more clarity in the showroom of the dealer and more clarity of the offer to the consumer,” Filosa said of the Wagoneer re-branding.
