Wrangler Trim No Longer: Willys To Become Standalone, Bare-Bones Model
Jeep is looking backward to figure out where it’s going next. The automaker took to the 2026 Paris Motor Show to announce the brand's plans to expand its European lineup to as many as six models by 2030. Perhaps most interesting are a new-generation Renegade and a possible revival of the spirit of its original Willys military off-roader.
Though it's been a trim model on the iconic Wrangler nameplate since 2014, Willys is an extremely important name for the Jeep brand. For those who don't know, Willys refers to the Willys-Overland Motor Company, a brand founded in 1912 in Toledo, Ohio — the same place the Wrangler is still made to this day. Willys-Overland developed and mass-produced the Willys MB that helped the USA through World War II, and it eventually led to the "CJ," a nameplate that cemented the brand as the defining authority on four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Ever since they slapped the Willys badge on the JK-generation Wrangler in 2014 for a special edition "Willys Wheeler" model, Jeep has been using its Willys brand name recognition on vehicles recently to help distinguish those that are more purposeful rather than luxurious. Today's JL Willys is very much the one to buy if you want the best value and capability proposition, bringing a locking rear differential to the party without the price tag of the Rubicon.
Now, Jeep is considering how the Willys can inspire future vehicles. That doesn't necessarily mean a retro-styled military Jeep is headed for showrooms; the brand is too well positioned a rung or five above bottom-barrel pricing for that.
Instead, the company appears interested in translating the original's compact dimensions, straightforward capability, and go-anywhere attitude into electrified transportation. That's a potentially smarter way to mine Jeep's heritage than simply slapping seven-slot grilles on another batch of crossovers (looking at you, Cherokee).
With increasingly crowded SUV segments and electrification reshaping the market, Jeep needs more than familiar styling cues to stand out. A small, genuinely capable electric off-roader could offer something distinctive; the models Jeep has are solid, but they're hardly a Wrangler, let alone a Willys.
For now, the Willys-inspired concept remains an idea. But if Jeep can preserve the original's purpose rather than just its image, its next icon might have a future as well as a past.
Oh, and Jeep is also supposedly reviving the Renegade model, too. The Renegade nameplate is hardly as well-known as Willys, but it too has a special place in Jeep's heart, moving from trim to model over its time in the brand's moniker catalog. The existing subcompact Renegade has sold over 600,000 models in Europe alone since it debuted in 2014, and it sold a similar number in North America over its roughly ten-year model run as well. Good numbers from what was a fairly mediocre vehicle.
All of this is to say, with Jeep really digging into its past in order to build new vehicles going forward, there is a lot of promise and a lot of hope for Jeep fans like yours truly. Hopefully they pan out better than the ill-conceived (and ill-received) Recon.
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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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I have seen some old Willy's at local car shows in Muskegon MI, they have modern ICEs. I think the proposed engine should by 4-cylinder and/or a small EV Hybrid where the gas engine is a range extender. My 2013 Toyota PriusC HEV with over 120K miles of 50 mpg is proof of concept. I would not recommend Willys EV only because there are not too many Level 3 Electric Chargers in the boonies. However, Level 3 inside the Interstate Highway System Corridors could be the lifeline for a proposed Willys EV. Also, Stellantis should create a small children version with rubber ducks Willys PHEV complementary with the purchase the Willys. Can you imagine crowds of families at JEEP dealers?
Apparently Stellantis has difficulty reading U.S. markets!! Right before it's release the PHEV Gladiator was cancelled. In the Midwest EV infrastructure just isn't there. putting affordable, key word is affordable PHEVs would find more acceptance than a pure EV. I was seriously considering downsizing our number of vehicles from wife's hybrid sedan, a Ram 1500 and a Corvette by combining truck and hybrid car with a Plug in Gladiator,, Oh Well... just have to wait and see who comes up with something in the future!!