Jeep plans to ax Renegade in US and Canada, focus on larger SUVs, EVs
Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press
Updated 5 min read
Get ready to say, "Ciao," to the Italian-made Jeep Renegade, known affectionately as the baby Jeep.
U.S. and Canadian customers will have to look to the Compass for an entry-level Jeep model from Stellantis' key SUV brand after the 2023 model year. The automaker is planning some lineup changes.
The 2024 Jeep Renegade will continue being sold, but that’ll be in Mexico, Europe, South America and the Asia-Pacific region, areas where it’s “core to our business,” according to Stellantis spokesman Rick Deneau, who said the Jeep brand would focus on SUV segments in the U.S. and Canada that “continue to grow” as well as electric offerings on the horizon, such as the Jeep Wagoneer S and Jeep Recon.
Jon Carr of Staten Island in New York is a fan of the Jeep Renegade and sometimes goes off-roading. Here is his 2019 Renegade, showing a little bit of mud from a recent drive. Stellantis is phasing out the Renegade in the United States and Canada.
The company also is discontinuing the Fiat 500X in this market.
For fans of the subcompact SUV Renegade, the prospect of losing the boxy Jeep with quirky "X" in the taillights that Car and Driver once described as a “cute brute” isn’t welcome. A couple of owners who are members of the JROG (Jeep Renegade Owners Group) on Facebook spoke to the Free Press and described the SUV as a great entry point for the brand.
Kathleen Mekailek, 56, of Portland, Texas, near Corpus Christi, loves the black- and purple-accented 2022 Renegade Latitude 4x4 she calls her “Salty Mermaid.”
Kathleen Mekailek, 56, of Portland, Texas, near Corpus Christi, loves the black- and purple-accented 2022 Renegade Latitude 4x4 she calls her “Salty Mermaid.”
“She loves to go to the beach. She handles the beach like a champ,” said Mekailek, a copper sculpture artist who’s retired from the Transportation Security Administration.Mekailek plans to hit the trails once she gets her Renegade lifted. She has had it since September when she traded in a Buick Encore.
Great handling, a smooth ride and enough room for her sculptures are big plusses for Mekailek. She said she wishes the radiator was better protected, describing damage from a metal projectile on a causeway during her first trip in the Renegade to the beach, but Mekailek noted her ride isn’t yet equipped with some of the extra protection, like a skid plate, that’s available.
Stellantis, Mekailek said, is doing itself a disservice by phasing out the Renegade here. She has seen other women trade in their Wranglers for Renegades because she said they want something that’s easier to get in and out of.
Jon Carr, 38, who lives on Staten Island in New York, has a couple of Wranglers, but it’s the 2019 Renegade Latitude that’s his daily driver. He does a little off-roading, sometimes for work and went mudding in North Carolina at Christmas. He has his Renegade lifted and equipped with special struts and BF Goodrich KO2 tires.
Carr, who works in the film industry and is a member of the Army Reserve, said the Renegade’s smaller size, which is reminiscent of the earliest Jeep Cherokees, is appropriate for where he lives.
“You have to parallel park in New York spaces, and people take up one and half spaces half the time, so you’re kind of like squeezing in,” he said.
A two-door Wrangler works, too, but it’s “not as convenient as a four-door Renegade,” he said.
Carr also likes the overall boxy design, which, he said, makes the Renegade stand out.
He said he believes the company has been overpricing the Renegade compared to the Compass. Jeep, on its website, lists a Renegade Latitude 4x4 with a starting price of $28,445, which is higher than the Compass Sport 4x4 at $25,900, for instance.
The company had high expectations for the Renegade when it was unveiled in 2014. While it’s continued to deliver elsewhere, U.S. sales have not been stellar. Stellantis reported sales of 26,011 Renegades in the United States in 2023, a drop of 6% compared with 2022, putting it among the Jeep brand’s lowest-volume models, which include much pricier and profitable Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers and the Cherokee, which saw its assembly plant idled early last year.
Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, suggested that the Renegade is a better fit elsewhere.
“In Jeep’s global expansion plans, the subcompact Renegade and the even smaller Avenger (an all-electric Jeep not sold in the United States) are tailored for Europe and Asia. Jeep’s image in the U.S. requires something more rugged or luxurious and the Renegade (falls) outside of those parameters. While the job of the Renegade was to appeal to younger buyers, it was crowded by a significantly larger Compass that sold for about the same price,” Fiorani said.
Luxury and premium consumers also aren't likely interested in what the Renegade represents, he said.
“Recently, Jeep has focused on its upscale clientele and offered the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, which can easily get into the six-figure price range. When catering to Grand Wagoneer buyers who expect to be treated very well, it’s difficult to share the showroom with a vehicle that appeals to first-time buyers just looking for a Jeep and a monthly price they can afford,” Fiorani said.
Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford, pointed the Free Press to a virtual Jeep exhibit on the museum’s website in talking about the Renegade. He referenced some similarities to the Jeepster from decades ago which, the exhibit notes, was marketed as “ideal for country drives” but also adept in city traffic.
“We think of Jeep as a timeless design, but the company has constantly updated its look and lineup to stay competitive. Sometimes it pays off spectacularly, like the Wagoneer in 1963 and the redesigned Cherokee in 1984, and sometimes it backfires, like the still-controversial switch to rectangular headlights in 1987,” Anderson said. “Renegade reminds me a bit of the Willys Jeepster of 1948-51. It had the Jeep name, but not enough of its DNA to attract customers. Buyers who want a Jeep want the ‘real’ thing, and maybe Renegade wasn’t quite there in the public mind.”
