- The average transaction price of a new Jeep rose from under $40k pre-COVID to over $54k.
- To attract buyers, Jeep now offers price cuts, incentives, and 0% financing options.
- Several new models are just around the corner, including a small electric off-roader.
Jeep stands as one of America’s most iconic automotive brands, yet its recent performance hasn’t lived up to that legacy. Despite its strong presence, the brand has faced a harsh reality—five consecutive years of declining sales. The slide continued into 2024, with sales dropping another 9% in the first half of the year. Now, the pressure is on chief executive Antonio Filosa to steer Jeep out of this slump and turn things around.
To make this happen, Jeep has started cutting prices across its lineup, rolled out new incentives and 0% financing, and ramped up spending on marketing and advertising. While it’s still early, the strategy shows promise: Jeep reported a 28% rise in sales last month compared to August 2023 and a 55% surge in July sales over the previous year.
Read: Stellantis Confirms Electrified Jeep Wagoneer, New Hybrids And 1.6-Liter Turbo
Jeep moved just under 643,000 vehicles last year, a sharp drop from the 973,000 it sold in 2018, its best year on record. The goal isn’t just to claw back to that figure but to push past it and hit 1 million sales annually. One major roadblock? Skyrocketing prices driving buyers away.
In 2020, the average new Jeep sold for less than $40,000, but the average transaction price has now soared to $54,811. Jeep also ended production of the Renegade and Cherokee last year, slashing the brand’s market coverage from around 80 percent to just 45 percent.
Jeep’s boss is confident he can make things right. The brand is gearing up to replace the Cherokee, roll out the all-electric Wagoneer S within the next 6 months, and introduce plug-in hybrid versions of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. A rugged, off-road EV called the Recon is also just around the corner.
“Now it’s time to push, and to accelerate, sales to recover as much as [they] need to do,” Filosa told CNBC. “Next year, obviously, we will talk all growth, since we have new products. … I believe [next year] will be a completely different story.” Filosa expects Jeep’s market share to recover “very quickly.”
Efforts are also being made to improve the quality and reliability of Jeep models, and as such, the launches of the Wagoneer S and Recon have been delayed by four to six weeks.
