The 2023 Jeep Avenger Just Won Car of the Year, but You Can’t Buy It
Jeep has a cool new SUV in its lineup, but not here in America. The all-electric 2023 Jeep Avenger just took home the impressive Car of the Year award in Europe, but the automaker does not plan to sell this compact sport utility vehicle overseas. With off-road capability, advanced safety features, and a reasonable price, why is America missing out on this Jeep?
The 2023 Jeep Avenger is the first-ever battery-electric vehicle
According to the initial press release from Stellantis, the 2023 Jeep Avenger is the brand’s first-ever battery-electric vehicle (BEV). Even though it has zero emissions, Jeep says it embodies the brand’s DNA “all within compact dimensions.” The electric powertrain uses a 400-volt electric motor with 115 kilowatts and 260 Nm of torque with a new 54 kWh battery. That is enough to get around 248 miles of range (400 km).
Jeep says the 2023 Avenger can utilize fast charging, adding 18 miles (30 km) in three minutes. It can charge from 20% State of Charge (SoC) to 90% SoC in 24 minutes. The automaker says the Avenger gets 341 miles (550 km) of range while city driving. It has driving systems like Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assist, and Traffic Sign Recognition. On top of that, Jeep says it is capable of Level 2 autonomous driving. This Jeep received the European Car of the Year for 2023 at the Brussels auto show last week, only adding to the long list of positives.
“The first-ever Jeep BEV with zero emissions embodies brand DNA all within compact dimensions.”
Stellantis
As far as the 2023 Jeep Avenger price goes, the 1st Edition started at $42,705 (€39,500) or $269 (€249) a month. Reasonably priced, stacked with features, and as innovative as a 2023 vehicle can be, why won’t Jeep sell the Avenger in America?
You can’t buy the 2023 Jeep Avenger in America for now
Business Insider recently reported on Jeep CEO Christian Meunier’s thoughts about the newest SUV in the lineup. At this time, Jeep doesn’t have plans to sell the Avenger here in America. It will be for sale in Europe and some countries in North Africa, even though Jeep wants electric vehicles to account for half of the sales in America by 2030. In 2022, Meunier told Tech Crunch there was “no real market potential in North America.”
Jeep has two fully-electric SUVs in the lineup for America, the Jeep Recon and Wagoneer S, but these are slated as 2024 releases. It isn’t clear why the U.S. market won’t get the 2023 Jeep Avenger, but Business Insider suggests better government subsidies in Europe could be a part of it.
For example, buyers in France can get $7,590 (€7000) toward a vehicle that costs less than $50,964 (€47,000). This could help boost sales and get more people into the 2023 Avenger while also chugging toward that goal of fully-electric vehicle sales. Jeep has plenty of vehicles in the pipeline for the U.S. market, but the Avenger is not a part of the plan.
The Avenger might be compact, but that’s what buyers are looking for
Jeep has plans to offer four electric vehicles in Europe by 2025, and the Avenger is off to a good start. Due to its compact design, it sits under the small Renegade in size. While American enjoys its compact SUVs, this vehicle size is very well-suited for the European market.
“It will be the new entry point to the Jeep range and will allow us to complete our SUV coverage, and we expect it to become the bestselling model in our portfolio by 2024,” Antonella Bruno, Head of Jeep Europe in Stellantis, said.
The 2023 Jeep Avenger checks all of the boxes for some buyers overseas, but perhaps it just isn’t suited for the American market. Regardless of the reason, Jeep seems to have a winner on its hands with the Avenger.
