Jeep President Expects New Big SUVs to Drive Brand Growth

When automakers need a name for a new model, the process often takes years of ideation and focus groups, not to mention legal reviews, but Jeep President Christian Meunier said it’s was a bit faster for the Grand Cherokee L, the first three-row model. it has been available for over a decade.

“We probably hesitated 30 seconds before deciding on Grand Cherokee,” he half-joked to FOX Business.

The Grand Cherokee L is an all-new model that fills a gap in the lineup that has been empty since the Commander was discontinued in 2010. Like this SUV, it shares a chassis with the five-passenger Grand Cherokee, of which a new version is also coming later this year.

“There have been a few internal discussions, but they were very short. Everyone was obviously convinced that it was a Grand Cherokee and that it was the right thing to do, ”said Meunier.

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The Grand Cherokee was Jeep’s best-selling model in 2020 with a 60% loyalty rate, and Jeep North America boss Jim Morrison expects the L to build on that by retaining the current Grand Cherokee owners who need to upgrade to three. rank vehicle while attracting others looking for a larger vehicle with more off-road capability than the competition offers.

“We think there are a lot of people who are going to be drawn to the new Grand Cherokee with the three rows opening up a lot of new customers to us,” Morrison said.

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The Jeep brand is coming off its best December, with the Wrangler and Gladiator each setting all-time records, and Morrison believes lockdown fatigue has definitely played a part, as buyers tune into the image of freedom in which Jeep leans.

“We’ve built this brand for 80 years, and these customers are drawn to our brand and the overall health of our brand is at its peak because of, you know, some of what we’ve been through with our brand, and this is the part of the adventure of freedom, ”he said.

Both executives expect the momentum to continue into 2021, when it will also launch the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer three-row SUVs, which are even larger than the Grand Cherokee L and move Jeep into a another segment, where Meunier expects nine out of 10 buyers to be new to the brand.

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“Customers are different. There is very little cross-shopping between the segments. The size of the product is different. The functionality, the tooling, the price are very different, ”said Meunier.