Jeep says its first electric car isn’t too small for Australia

Jeep’s The former global chief executive had to be convinced there was a market for the brand’s smallest ever model in Australia, which was part of the reason it launched the brand. 2025 Jeep Avenger It took nearly two years to get here.

Avenger is launched in September 2022, with deliveries starting in Europe in early 2023.

Confirmed for Australian launch in August 2023 and finally launched locally this month, it becomes Jeep’s first electric vehicle (EV) and smallest since the original Willys military truck.

It’s also the first light electric SUV to be available in Australia, as the electric Mini Aceman is officially classified as a light car (rather than an SUV) and first customer deliveries have been delayed until early next year, but it will be available soon. Followed by the new Hyundai Inster Early 2025.

Hundreds of new car deals available via car expert Now. Get the experts on your side and get big rewards. Browse now.

The Jeep Avenger is just 4084mm long and priced from $49,990 (plus on-road costs), while the Aceman is slightly shorter at 4076mm but more expensive (from $55,990) and the four-seat Inster is shorter at 3825mm. But the price will be less than $40,000.

At the Avenger’s local launch last week, Jeep Australia product manager Bridget Thomson said Christian Meunier, who will be replaced as Jeep global chief executive by Antonio Filosa in November 2023, took some time to sign off on the small electric SUV. The business case for this market.

“So we spent some time working through our unique Australian regulatory development process,” she said. “Also, we did a lot of work to actually convince the Jeep CEO at the time that this car was also made for Australia.

“It’s a bit smaller than other cars in our market, which takes a bit of convincing, but even though it’s smaller, it’s definitely worth it in Australia.

“We have to do a little bit of ‘we really want it’.”

Asked whether Jeep Australia remained confident of the Avenger’s success despite slowing electric vehicle sales, Ms Thomson said the company’s new entry model would be popular for its design and driving experience, while Not because it’s an electric car.

“I don’t think there’s a problem. I think in the (electric vehicle) market, we’re moving from early adopters to early mainstream, so it’s going to take time,” she said.

“The wonderful thing about this car and what the dealer says is that it looks and feels like an internal combustion car.

“So I think a lot of people will be more inclined to do an electrification switch because it won’t be like ‘Oh my gosh, this is an electric car, it’s all new, it’s one-pedal driving, it doesn’t have a lot of buttons’.”

“None of that. It still looks and feels like an internal combustion car, so we don’t care about the timing at all.”

While the soon-to-be-replaced MG ZS EV is currently Australia’s cheapest electric SUV, starting at $39,990, the Avenger’s starting price of around $50,000 is also undercut by other larger battery-powered SUVs, including the Chery Omoda E5 (previously the Priced at $42,990 (on-road).

It’s also undercut by the larger ute C10 ($45,888 before on-roads), which is already sold in the U.S. through the Stellantis dealer network through a joint venture distribution deal with the Chinese automaker.

But Jeep Australia believes the Avenger will stand out due to its unique style.

“It’s a very interesting time in the market and we always pay attention to these things,” she said.

“We’re not closed-minded to the fact that there are all these competitors, but we believe it’s very different from other products on the market.

“Being steeped in that history – it’s very much a Jeep and we have that capability, but I don’t think a lot of competitors can actually do that – I think we have a very unique selling point , but many people don’t realize this. “It’s actually completely replicable. “

Ms Thomson did not disclose the Avenger’s sales targets or name any direct rivals, but said Jeep’s off-road heritage would give it a unique position in an increasingly cluttered local electric vehicle market.

“I think we’ve stuck to our plan for launching the car and how we positioned it,” she said.

“So I don’t think what’s happening in the market will affect us. We have to focus on what we do and we’ll try to focus on that as much as possible rather than dealing with all the noise in the background.

“We do some local marketing content. It’s a very unique car with a very unique selling point, so we’re leveraging that as much as we can to differentiate ourselves from other cars on the market.

“We are the smallest electric SUV on the market right now.”

More: All things Jeep Avenger