Jeep Thrills: Customers Snapping Up 4xe Off-Roaders

It hasn’t been too many flips of the calendar since Jeep rolled out their 4xe sub-brand, a moniker that denotes rigs as having a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Whilst more than one dusty corner of the internet figured Jeep-type customers would turn up their noses at such a proposition, recent sales numbers suggest the effort is actually doing quite well.

So long as one frames those numbers through a very specific lens, of course.

According to numbers compiled by the talking heads at Automotive News, 4xe now makes up roughly 25 percent of Wrangler sales, with 42,469 of the things finding new homes last year. That’s a number, by the way, good enough to apparently claim the title of best-selling PHEV in the country. 

We could be unkind and point out that’s still only three-tenths of one percent (0.003 percent) of all new vehicles sold in America last year, and that there are less than 50 PHEVs on sale in our market at the present time, making this crown akin to bragging that one got a podium finish in a field of three cars. Will these numbers change when (if?) the world’s supply chains begin to sort themselves out? Surely fanatics of the Toyota brand are snapping up every RAV4 Prime they can find and would buy more if they were available; numbers suggest only 35,131 PHEVs rolled out of Toyota dealerships in 2022, 1.7 percent of total volume and down a third from ‘21, figures surely dictated by production limitations.

Still, good on Jeep for being able to fill demand. It’s difficult to sell cars if the lot is empty. It took the Wrangler 4xe less than a year to ascent the summit of America’s plug-in hybrid market, a position it has yet to relinquish. Practically speaking, that model packs towering torque numbers and retains Jeep’s legendary off-road abilities; the company is said to have been adamant that 4xe models meet the same trail-rated standards as other trims in the lineup.

Speaking of trims, the Wrangler 4xe is now offered across a wide price range – Willys, Rubicon, et al – opening the powertrain to an array of customers shopping at different price points. This is a smart decision that surely helps sales numbers, suggesting the Wrangler 4xe might not relinquish its top spot any time soon.

[Image: Jeep]

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