Dead In The U.S.: Jeep Renegade
Goodbye, my little boxy friend. Jeep is killing the Jeepster Renegade subcompact crossover in the U.S. and Canada at the end of the year.
Mitchell Slaggert’s Rainbow-Colored Jeep Wrangler
The small SUV – which starts at $29,445 (including destination) sits about $500 below the Jeep Compass as the automaker’s cheapest offering. Now, that crossover will serve as Jeep’s most affordable vehicle.
The Renegade went on sale in the U.S. in 2015 – which was already eight years ago. Its best sales year was 2016, when Jeep moved 106,606 Renegades, AutoNews says. Every year since then, sales have declined, dropping to just 27,549 in 2022. In 2023, sales through September are down 35 percent. I mean, the Renegade has not gotten much in terms of a facelift or refresh in the full presidential term it has been on sale. That being said, it’s still incredibly cute and people are goobers for buying other stuff instead.
Jeep explained to Automotive News why the little crossover is on the way out in most of North America but is going to stick around elsewhere:
It will leave the U.S. and Canada “as the brand focuses its resources on SUV segments in North America that continue to grow,” the spokesperson told Automotive News. The Renegade is built in Italy on the same platform used for the Fiat 500X.
Renegade sales will continue in other markets such as Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific, “where the Jeep Renegade is core to our business,” the brand said.
This news comes on the heels of the announcement that the Jeep Cherokee would be dying after 49 years. The Cherokee was built at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois until it was idled in February, according to AutoNews. Stellantis agreed in its new UAW contract to reopen the plant for midsize pickup production in 2027.
Jeep is said to be refreshing its whole portfolio with a number of EV offerings in 2024. That’s when the Wagoneer S and Recon are scheduled to arrive. It also plans to offer an electrified version of everything it sells in North America by 2025. That’ll be a tough order.
Regardless of the future, the Renegade, as we know it at least, is firmly in the past. Goodbye, little friend. I will think of your cute yet tough looks fondly.
I leave you now with this shitty song. Coincidentally, it came out the same year as our Renegade:
X Ambassadors – Renegades (Official Video)
