Jeep sales have seen a huge slump as drivers complain about soaring prices and excessive tech inside the vehicles.
Two of its iconic models, the Wrangler and the Gladiator, face an uphill struggle to win over consumers.
The Wrangler saw sales plummet by 35 percent from almost a quarter of a million to 155,491, the Toledo Blade reports.
Meanwhile the Gladiator suffered more, with sales plunging by 38 percent, from 89,712 in 2021 to 55,187 last year.
It is a trend which has continued to plague the off-road giant for the first half of 2024.
Latest sales data show that in June, Jeep recorded its lowest ever figures for the last six years. Just 13,134 Wranglers were sold and 3,542 Gladiators.
Sales projections are so gloomy that some experts believe there may not even be a 2026 Gladiator model.
Jeep prices have skyrocketed by 61 percent since 2018, according to Caredge.
A 2024 Wrangler now starts at $31,995, up $400 from the price last year. However, a top of line model can stretch to a whopping $101,890.
The Gladiator, considered the Wrangler’s pick-up truck sister model, starts at $37,895, with a top of the range version beginning at $64,890.
The vehicles boast a range of high-tech features which include remote vehicle start, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a 4G hotspot which can support eight devices, a rear view parking camera and many more.
However, the upgrades have turned off many lifelong fans of the brand, who say they come at the expense of affordability.
‘They took something simple that worked and made it too luxurious,’ Jason Davis, administrator of Jeep fan Facebook page, told the Toledo Blade.
‘They jacked the price up so much that they lost touch with their loyal consumer base and made it hard for people to afford.
‘No one wants to pay $50,000 to $98,000 for something that they take out on the trail. You can’t price the majority of your consumer base out of the ability to afford your vehicles and then be confused about a major slump in sales.’
Jeep fanatic Sherry Trees is currently looking to buy her second Jeep for off-road use, but is exclusively looking for vehicles with less tech.
‘Comments on the Jeep sites I’m on say the new ones with computer systems are always having problems. Give me old school, where you don’t need a computer degree to fix it,’ she said.
It is an issue that the National Highways and Transportation Authority has picked up on.
Earlier this month approximately 32,863 Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators were recalled to fix malfunctioning instrument panel clusters.
In November 2022, the NHTSA announced a recall of nearly 63,000 model year 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles equipped with a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle engine.
At the time, NHTSA documents warned that these cars may experience engine shutdown that could result in sudden loss of motive power while driving.
While earlier this year, the government’s auto safety agency announced it was looking into more than 94,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles, after receiving complaints for cars outside the scope of the earlier recall.
Last year, manufacturer Stellantis announced a recall of over 32,000 of hybrid SUVs for posing a potential fire risk.
Jeep’s current models are direct descendants of their Willys MB 4x4s, which were used on the battlefield by the US and other allied soldiers during World War Two.
This history has long cemented its status as an iconic American brand, something it leaned into with its Super Bowl advert a few years ago, which starred ‘Born in the USA’ singer Bruce Springsteen.
However, today the company is owned by Dutch company Stellantis, which also owns several other iconic US names including Dodge, Chrysler and Ram.
The manufacturer has been facing issues across its portfolio with the threat of further strikes by the United Auto Workers union potentially looming.
Union boss Shawn Fain claims Stellantis has reneged on the conditions negotiated during a wave of crippling strikes last year.
Jeep is also facing competition from rival Ford’s Bronco and Maverick models, off-road vehicles which sell for considerably less.
The situation has Stellantis top brass rattled, if a letter from its National Dealer Council Chairman Kevin Farrish to CEO Carlos Tavares is anything to go by.
‘The reckless short-term decision-making to secure record profits in 2023 has had devastating, yet entirely predictable, consequences in the US market,’ Mr. Farrish wrote.
‘Those consequences include the rapid degradation of our iconic American brands — brands like Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler that have over a century of history in America.’
But there is still hope for Jeep especially since the Federal Reserve recently slashed its benchmark interest rate in a move that it’s hoped will stimulate sales.
But beyond that, industry leaders believe the brand’s legendary status in US history and culture will be enough to kick it back into gear.
‘The brand has a lot of equity. It won’t just go away,’ van Drury, the director of insights for Edmunds Inc, said.
‘They have American symbolism behind them. It’s iconic and stands for something bigger than the brand itself. Jeep will turn around at some point.’