Which is the next Jeep to have hybrid-electric power?

Jeep leader Antonio Filosa announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show that Jeep is adding a hybrid-electric gasoline-powered car in 2025. This is not a surprise move for everyone, though it seemed to have surprised a few people. The 1.6 liter Peugeot engine being prepared for production in Dundee, Michigan, was meant to be used in a turbocharged, hybrid-electric form in the United States.

The engine is meant to be used with a Punch Powertrain hybrid dual-clutch transmission (DCT) containing its own electric motor(s), and the company recently patented a four-cylinder longitudinal engine connected to a 7-speed hybrid DCT. This would be a 48 volt system.

There are two possibilities for this, one of which is the upcoming Jeep Compass, which will almost certainly be powered by the 1.6 liter engine when it comes off the Brampton (Canada) assembly line. The other is the Jeep Wagoneer S’ “other half,” the next-generation Jeep Cherokee, which shares the same KM body code. The Cherokee is probably why the Wagoneer has such a long hood; they have to share a basic body shape, though styling is likely to be quite different.

The Jeep Cherokee, though, is more likely to use the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine—quite possibly in 4xe mode. The hood appears to be large enough to support the Hurricane Six, as well.

One downside of the 4xe is that the current system, through battery failures, a park-outside-and-do-not-charge recall, and dealers’ inability to diagnose problems easily (many of which are caused by the battery failures), is somewhat less credible and desirable than it should have been. Even if these issues are fixed, the company may need to distance a new car with this system from the existing ones—just as the Lean Burn and Ultradrive names were dropped after a few years while the much-improved systems lived on.