Jeep has outlined its ambitious five-year plan to electrify its SUV lineup at the 2018 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles investor meeting in Balocco, Italy.
Electrification is interesting to Jeep for two reasons. As the brand drops diesel in many global markets, plug-in hybrids can help lower fleet emissions in the face of increasingly stringent CO2 standards. Additionally, the brand sees e-motors' high torque and controlled application of that torque as a way to increase the off-road capability of its vehicles.
Eight plug-in hybrid models -- including the already announced Wrangler PHEV -- will reach the North American market by 2021 according to FCA Head of Jeep and Ram, Michael Manley. Globally, the automaker will bring that total to 10 PHEV models to market by 2022. That works out to a plug-in version of every nameplate in Jeep's lineup, potentially including an new A-segment crossover, a new 3-row model and a return of the full-sized Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer on the horizon.
Beyond hybridization, Jeep is also working on pure battery electrics with four BEV models in development and expected to reach the Chinese market within the next five years. Investors got a peek at what those models might sound like when Manley wheeled perfectly silent electric Renegade and Wrangler Rubicon prototype mules onto stage to punctuate this point.