Did The Jeep Recon Just Became a Huge Threat to the Wrangler?
In what is turning out to be one of the biggest automotive about-face moves of all time, Stellantis is reportedly going back to the drawing board for its Jeep Recon EV and working on an internal combustion engine version of the vehicle to supplement the electric-only initial offering.
We're less than, uh, shocked, though it does have us wondering how this will affect the Wrangler long term.
The idea behind the Jeep Recon (EJ, as it's called in Jeep nerd terms) is sound.
Take elements of the Wrangler that are approachable to the masses, make it all-electric, and let it rip. Electric off-roading is awesome, the wizardry that can be done with an EV powertrain's traction systems is nothing short of amazing, and the idea of a more comfortable Wrangler that you can still take the doors off of is very appealing.
Except that apparently people don't want EVs—the government stopped incentivizing them—as much as once presumed. This throws a wrench in the plans for the Recon, which is joining the already-struggling Wagoneer S as what will be the two sole all-electric offerings in Jeep's catalog, at least for now.
At the recent Stellantis Investor Day in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jeep announced that the brand is working on and will be debuting a gas-powered version of the Recon in the near future. We expect this engine to be the 2.0-liter turbocharged "Hurricane" inline four-cylinder unit that Stellantis is throwing in everything these days, and it will likely be paired with an 8-speed gearbox. Standard stuff.
The big question here is obviously how this will impact Wrangler sales. There's no replacement for the icon, but a more comfortable, safer, and useful version of the world's most well-known off-roader is certainly going to be appealing to a wider audience.
Independent front suspension won't appease the die-hards—but most Wranglers aren't even sold to diehards, they live in Condo parking garages and suburban driveways. Looking at it through the modern lens of value of the image over value of the object, looking the look without having to walk the walk might be a huge sales point for the gas-powered Jeep Recon.
This might eat into Wrangler sales, and cannibalization is only acceptable if it means a net positive sales trend overall. And with a new Wrangler seemingly on the horizon, could Jeep somehow find a way to shove a solid front axle under the Recon and call it the newest generation? The Recon will ride on a unibody platform, while we know Stellantis has a new body-on-frame platform incoming that will underpin the Ram Dakota and the Ramcharger. So we'll see...
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Based in Connecticut, Ross hosts The Hooniverse Podcast. He has been in the off-road world since he was a kid riding in the back of his dad’s YJ Wrangler. He works in marketing by day and in his free time contributes to Hooniverse, AutoGuide, and ATV.com, and in the past has contributed to UTV Driver, ATV Rider, and Everyday Driver. Ross drives a 2018 Lexus GX460 that is an ongoing build project featured on multiple websites and the podcast.
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The roof doesn't come off, so no, it's not really going to eat into wrangler sales that much.