Manley: Jeep Grand Wagoneer On Its Way

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Town & Country PHEVs not your bag? Jeep’s Mike Manley might have a Grand Wagoneer waiting for you in late 2015 for the 2016 model year.

Motoring.com.au reports the three-row, seven- to eight-passenger SUV will serve as the brand’s flagship, competing against the likes of the Mercedes GL-Class and the upcoming BMW X7 as Jeep grows its market share in the United States, Brazil and Australia.

Speaking of the BMW X Series, Manley says the Grand Cherokee proved to all that Jeep could “compete at the very premium end of the segment,” citing the cross-shop between it and the X5 in the U.S. market as “phenomenal.” He’s also considering models aimed at the X4 and X6, believing such vehicles would be beneficial to the lineup:

If you consider the styling of Cherokee and Renegade, there’s perhaps [even] more of a market in D [segment] than E SUV [for sportier models]. I think it can fit with the brand.

As far as sales go, Manley says Jeep is on its way to selling over 1 million units in 2014, with a goal of doubling that number by 2018. When asked about 2015, however, all he stated was that there was an expectation for Jeep to continue climbing up the global market trail.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Oct 08, 2014

    When will TTAC fix this irritating problem. Or does this problem only occur to certain people?????? Hmm. I do thank the people for their responses. It appears to ones who use BAFO are the subjective ones. This does't mean they are lesser people, just more unfortunate. I can see many responses that are subjective and emotive regarding personal views on FCA and Jeep products. I was actually considering a VM diesel Grand Cherokee. So, I do know where it fits in the scheme of thing here in Australia. There was a provocative comment regarding the Australian car market. To that person, yes the Australian car market is a litmus used by many manufacturers to test a new product. Apparently if a vehicle makes it in Australia it is more probable to be successful in other western countries. The Grand Cherokee was priced similarly to the Kia Sorento/Hyundai Santa Fe. Bling and quality were competitive between them. The Korean's did have a slight advantage in bling. To the person who stated that Jeep overall quality had improved. Yes, this is quite true. But it has yet to match the Euro prestige or even the mainstream Japanese competitors, ie, Prado, Pajero, etc. These vehicle command a higher price and they aren't prestige vehicles. FCA is pricing all of it's products aggressively here. This is against 'bread and butter' brands not prestige. The quality of FCA vehicles also doesn't fit with a prestige brand. Also, the comment stating that our Grand Cherokee is different, yes, the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the vehicle. There is no differences between our vehicles. Australia has a liberal car market and we even accept American vehicles built to American standards. I have never stated that the Grand Cherokee didn't represent good value or that it's quality was poor in relation to it's pricing. The Grand Cherokee is good off road. But so are many other products. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is such a mainstream SUV/CUV it's the biggest seller here. That should indicate this isn't a prestige vehicle, it's just a common vehicle, like a ute. A Wagoneer I do envisage to be cheaper than a Patrol or Landcruiser in which it will be competing. But it will need more than reputation to survive here. It will actually need to produce the goods. If it can't be competitive against a Patrol or Landcruiser it will not be imported. Even the Chev Suburban was removed from our market due to poor performance and quality. The US does build some good vehicles.

  • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Oct 08, 2014

    When will TTAC fix this irritating problem. Or does this problem only occur to certain people?????? Hmm.... It will work sooner or later. I do thank the people for their responses. It appears to ones who use BAFO are the subjective ones. This does't mean they are lesser people, just more unfortunate. I can see many responses that are subjective and emotive regarding personal views on FCA and Jeep products. I was actually considering a VM diesel Grand Cherokee. So, I do know where it fits in the scheme of thing here in Australia. There was a provocative comment regarding the Australian car market. To that person, yes the Australian car market is a litmus used by many manufacturers to test a new product. Apparently if a vehicle makes it in Australia it is more probable to be successful in other western countries. The Grand Cherokee was priced similarly to the Kia Sorento/Hyundai Santa Fe. Bling and quality were competitive between them. The Korean's did have a slight advantage in bling. To the person who stated that Jeep overall quality had improved. Yes, this is quite true. But it has yet to match the Euro prestige or even the mainstream Japanese competitors, ie, Prado, Pajero, etc. These vehicle command a higher price and they aren't prestige vehicles. FCA is pricing all of it's products aggressively here. This is against 'bread and butter' brands not prestige. The quality of FCA vehicles also doesn't fit with a prestige brand. Also, the comment stating that our Grand Cherokee is different, yes, the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the vehicle. There is no differences between our vehicles. Australia has a liberal car market and we even accept American vehicles built to American standards. I have never stated that the Grand Cherokee didn't represent good value or that it's quality was poor in relation to it's pricing. The Grand Cherokee is good off road. But so are many other products. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is such a mainstream SUV/CUV it's the biggest seller here. That should indicate this isn't a prestige vehicle, it's just a common vehicle, like a ute. A Wagoneer I do envisage to be cheaper than a Patrol or Landcruiser in which it will be competing. But it will need more than reputation to survive here. It will actually need to produce the goods. If it can't be competitive against a Patrol or Landcruiser it will not be imported. Even the Chev Suburban was removed from our market due to poor performance and quality. The US does build some good vehicles.

    • See 1 previous
    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Oct 08, 2014

      " Or does this problem only occur to certain people?????? Hmm…." I have noticed not seeing any comments from at least seven people I know in real life. Surprising, because these people are/were avid followers of ttac. Contacting them by phone or email only resulted in replies to me along the lines of, "Nahhhh, lost interest" or "Nehhhh, not into it any more." Maybe this was one of the irritants that sent them packing. I don't know because I'm not on enough to be irritated by this or other problems.

  • DenverMike DenverMike on Oct 08, 2014

    I'm sure it only happens to YOU, BAFO. And the UAW is 100% FULLY responsible! Seriously doh, we'll stop using BAFO when you start using the proper names for the UAW, FCA, BMW, USA, CAFE; EPA, OPEC, TTAC, FDA, FBI, MPG, MPH, AM, PM, LOL, etc, etc.

    • See 2 previous
    • Lie2me Lie2me on Oct 08, 2014

      @Pch101 Lol, driving Chinese pick-ups... Why do you think those aliens are stuck on Mars?

  • Baconpope Baconpope on Oct 11, 2014

    Although a Grand Wagoneer would be interesting, it will not be a sales success. A Jeep pickup, on the other hand, is a no-brainer. You could easily move 15 - 20,000 reskinned Rams.

    • See 3 previous
    • AJ AJ on Nov 16, 2014

      Yes to a pickup over a Grand Wagoneer. I loved the Wagoneer's back in the day. My grandpa's retirement vehicle as a rancher back in early 80s was one. I just don't think there is room for one with the Grand Cherokee. I feel like we'd get another Commander.

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