No other details were given, but we will note Stellantis has been pushing back the launch dates on some electric models
- Jeep’s CEO confirms the Cherokee will make its return in 2025—and as a hybrid
- The last-generation Cherokee ended production in 2023, and its plant was shuttered
- The announcement comes as Ram pushes its EV and extended-range truck launches into next year
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The Cherokee was built at Stellantis’ plant in Belvidere, Illinois, which had started up in 1965 building the Plymouth Fury, and which was shuttered once the last Cherokee rolled off the line. Last year, Stellantis said it intended to invest US$4.8 billion into the plant, with reports that its makeover could include an EV battery plant and an unnamed pickup truck, with two shifts building it and with capacity for 100,000 vehicles. The automaker has also announced it’s setting aside US$406 million to upgrade three facilities in Michigan for battery-powered vehicles.
So given that Jeep’s existing hybrids are the plug-in variety, it would make sense that the automaker would stick that same powertrain into a new Cherokee hybrid. It’s also possible it might not be called a “Cherokee,” but slipped into the Recon lineup alongside – or perhaps in place of – a battery-only version. Right now all we can do is speculate, and then wait and see.