Photo: Q Cars / YouTube
Many automakers across the US market are currently busy presenting their 2023 sales performance – both good and bad. Most of the companies involved in the region had a great year over the past twelve months and achieved many records in the process.
However, that is not necessarily the case with Stellantis North America – its total sales dropped one percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, and the fourth-quarter deliveries were also down 1%. Interestingly, many of the group's brands registered substantial increases – Chrysler jumped 19%, Dodge soared by 5%, and Ram also nailed a 3% increase.
With a total of 1,527,090 vehicles for the entire 2023 calendar year, it did lag behind General Motors (2.6 million), Toyota (2.24 million), or Ford Motor Company (almost 2 million). Again, that's not necessarily any particular brand's fault as even Jeep, which has not been doing too well lately, got its fourth-quarter US sales up 7% over the same period last year. Even better, Stellantis' total plug-in hybrid deliveries skyrocketed 124% for 2023 and 118% during the final quarter.
The one-two best PHEVs on the market come from Stellantis – Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, followed by Chrysler's Pacifica Hybrid, which is a stellar performance considering how few electrified models they really have. Anyway, given the good sales, everyone probably thinks that Jeep, in particular, should take good care of their PHEVs, right?
With the 2024 Wrangler already thoroughly refreshed, all that remains is to diligently cater to the Grand Cherokee's fortunes. And if Stellantis doesn't do that in the real world, no worries – the imaginative realm of digital content creators is more than ready and willing to unofficially cover their duties. More precisely, the good folks over at the Q Cars channel on YouTube aim to daze and amaze the audience with a potential styling of their vision for the updated Grand Cherokee – in hybrid (4xe) form.
According to the resident pixel master, the 2025 model year SUV will likely get superficial design upgrades – which are presented with help from their unofficial design project featuring subtle styling enhancements for the WL generation. While these renderings are entirely wishful thinking, they keep the rugged yet stylish spirit of the real crossover SUV, and we hope that Stellantis' designers will go in that direction with the redesign.
Meanwhile, the channel's host also discusses potential modifications in terms of powertrains – they believe that Jeep will follow the lead of the 2025 Ram 1500 lineup and feature the V6 Pentastar eTorque mild hybrid as the base engine followed by replacing the mighty 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with the standard or H/O (high output) members of the new Hurricane inline-six turbo family.
As for the Grand Cherokee 4xe, it will soldier on with the 2.0-liter electrified inline-four churning out 375 hp and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm). The 17-kWh battery pack provides an estimated 25 miles (40 km) of range when running solely on electric power, but the model still has a towing rating of up to 6,000 pounds (2,722 kg). And if you need a wild guess from us, they could also do a high-performance 4xe as the spiritual successor of the Trackhawk – perhaps mating the Hurricane H/O with a couple of electric motors? If not, they could always do a range-extended EV similar to the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger, if you ask us…
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