Reviving Jeep: New leadership and fresh lineup set the brand back on track
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It is time to get Jeep back on track. The brand once thought to have a license to print money has been struggling, as has parent Stellantis. But reorganization, more regional autonomy, new personnel, products and a more positive wind blowing through the halls in Auburn Hills are poised to get the storied brand back on the proper path.
'We need to get Jeep back,' said Mike Koval who this week was named head of Jeep sales and operations for the brand globally. Koval was at the 2025 Chicago Auto Show to reveal a new trim level for the 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S, a premium midsize electric SUV.
Changes have been afoot since Carlos Tavares resigned as CEO in December. Chairman John Elkann has been acting as interim chief and, with Antonio Filosa in North America, they have worked to restore morale at the automaker. It is working, says Koval, who moved to Jeep from Mopar earlier this week. There has been a positive energy over the past couple months, he says. People are back in the building in Auburn Hills and there is a new energy and vitality.
2025 Jeep lineup:An army-inspired Wrangler, fresh EVs and more
Under Filosa, Jeep has stabilized over the last four or five months. And this week more changes were announced. Filosa handed the top Jeep job over to Bob Broderdorf who was leading the brand in North America and now assumes global responsibility.
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Fixing Jeep
Jeep is being restructured to be a single global brand, breaking down regional walls for a more streamlined bureaucracy designed to get everyone on the same page.
In case you missed it:Jeep slashes 2025 Grand Cherokee prices
'2025 will be our comeback story,' Koval said. The Wagoneer S will be joined later this year by another electric Jeep, the more off-road-oriented Jeep Recon. And the big surge is expected to come from the successor to the Jeep Cherokee which will fill a gaping hole in the lineup with no product in the largest segment. Koval would not say if the new model will continue to use the Cherokee name.
Jeep will be at 24 auto shows this year compared with three in 2024, as well as other events, Koval said. The company is also paying close attention to tariffs the U.S. is placing on imports from China and threatening to slap on goods from Canada and Mexico. Stellantis has contingency plans in place, but the automaker has two plants in Canada and two in Mexico, including the one that makes the Jeep Wagoneer S that showed its Limited trim model at the Chicago auto show.
The Wagoneer S debuted with a Launch Edition offered for the 2024 and 2025 model years, followed by the 2025 Limited trim. Koval would not say how many trim levels will be offered ultimately but a good guess is a Trailhawk version since Jeep has already shown us a concept.
'Jeep is synonymous with core values of America and fun and adventure,' Koval says. It needs to get back to its core and reconnect with buyers. 'I think we have a lot more freedom and latitude to get back to who we are.'
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