Jeep Readying to Launch Entire Lineup of Hybrid Vehicles

With a hybrid line-up on the horizon, Jeep is becoming a more “electric, greener brand.”

Cruising the trails in a Jeep has always inspired a connection with nature. But it looks like Jeep owners may have to get used to making environmental connections of a different kind, as well.

According to FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, hybrids, which use electric motors as a source of power, will become a standard offering across most of Jeep’s lineup.

In fact, Marchionne says that most of the Jeeps going forward are all going to be hybrids, as detailed in a MarketWatch report.

“That work is beginning now and will become visible in the next two to three years,” says Marchionne.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About Jeep’s Hybridization

He expects a “mild hybrid” Wrangler by the end of the decade. Unlike more standard hybrid vehicles, where electric motors are used to rotate the wheels, mild hybrids use electric motors for other power functions in the vehicle.

It’s a pretty interesting shift, considering that FCA ran into a lot of trouble with the electric models of the Fiat 500, the 500e.

Of course, the Fiat 500e relies on fully electric motors to power the vehicle. But according to Marchionne, Fiat loses $20,000 on every Fiat 500e it sells. That would make any carmaker cautious about investing heavily into the hybrid space. But the CEO was quick to note that the loss margin with electric vehicles is really an industry issue, rooted in the fact that most batteries and electric motors are developed by outside suppliers with highly-specialized skills in the technology.