Jeep Is Racing Tesla to the $25,000 EV

• CEO Carlos Tavares says Jeep is building a $25,000 EV.
• The EV will be based around Stellantis' small car platform, so expect a compact SUV.
• Jeep wants a $25,000 price point, but tariffs could make this tricky.

A relatively affordable Jeep electric vehicle has been in the rumor mill for a while, but concrete details are beginning to emerge after Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares’ comments to media outlets and at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference. Tavares says Jeep has an EV on the way “very soon,” and he has previously said that he considers the price point for an “affordable” EV to be right around $25,000. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming $25,000 Jeep EV.

Tavares’ comments give us a rough idea as to the SUV’s sizing — and it will be an SUV. Tavares likened the project to the European Citroën ë-C3, which also starts around $25,000. The Citroën is a compact SUV, with just 113 horsepower and under 200 miles of range. Given American preferences for power and range, these figures will rise, and the platform the SUV will be built on originally targeted a range of at least 300 miles. Dimensionally, we’re expecting something larger than the car’s French Connection. Jeep’s affordable EV should land in the small SUV class and will be built upon Stellantis’ STLA Small platform that underpins vehicles like Europe’s Jeep Avenger.

Yet Jeep has its work cut out for it to meet the $25,000-ish price point set by the CEO. The Biden administration recently announced massive tariffs on imported Chinese EVs and parts used to make EVs coming from that country. Unless Stellantis can produce an EV that skirts these new tariffs, pricing will be a sticking point for the upcoming EV. Should it happen, and Stellantis is able to bring a small, affordable electric Jeep to the U.S. market, the automaker will have delivered on promises Tesla and others have failed to keep.

Edmunds says

Stellantis is right to look at bringing a small EV to the U.S.; many EVs in America sit above the $40,000 mark, and pushing downmarket could bring Stellantis some big success.