Australia-bound electric Jeep hits 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds

Details of the first global battery-electric Jeep have been announced in the US ahead of its arrival in Australian showrooms in 2024.

The Jeep Wagoneer S SUV will go on sale in the US in the second quarter of 2024 packing 447kW and a 0-96km/h time of 3.5 seconds.

The first global electric Jeep is also the first built on the STLA electric platform, with the company confirming the timing of the Wagoneer S with a social media teaser and press statement.

It teased parts of the new electric SUV – which is similar in size to a Grand Cherokee L – including a single front-on image showing the trademark seven-bar grille lit up by LEDs.

The social media clip teased a little more, revealing front guard vents as well as polished alloy wheels with ‘Wagoneer’ centre caps.

One of three new electric SUVs – the others being the Avenger and Recon – Jeep Australia has not confirmed the timing for the Wagoneer S Down Under, nor the Recon, but has confirmed the electric smaller Jeep Avenger for the second half of 2024.

A concept proposal of the Wagoneer S was first shown in 2022 with the new images and video suggesting the production model is true to the original idea, but Jeep also confirmed performance credentials for the electric vehicle.

That includes a 600hp (447kW) power output and 0-60mph (96km/h) time of 3.5 seconds, consistent with claims made when the Wagoneer S was announced in 2022.

This matches the rumoured output of the electric Jeep Recon, and makes the Wagoneer S quicker than the yet-to-be-confirmed V8 Hemi-powered Jeep Wrangler 392 Rubicon Final Edition – which has a 703hp (517kW) 6.4-litre engine and a 4.0-second 0-60mph (96km/h) time.

The Wagoneer S should also be capable of beating the Wrangler Final Edition’s 12.9-second quarter-mile time.

In addition, Jeep has previously said it is targeting a range of 443km on a single charge, also confirming the Wagoneer S will use the brand’s 4xe four-wheel drive system.

The Wagoneer S is not the first electric Jeep; the electric Avenger due in Australia in the second half of 2024 has that honour, having been on sale in Europe since 2023.

The Wagoneer S is the first all-important global electric model from the brand, though.

It will also be the first electric Jeep to be offered in the US as the company targets half of all vehicles it sells in North America to be
electric by 2030, and an all-electric line-up in Europe the same year.

The Jeep Recon – confirmed for Australia and previously expected in US showrooms in early 2024 – was set to be the first global electric Jeep, but the timing of the Wagoneer S suggests the Recon has been delayed.

Jeep launched its first plug-in hybrid, the Cherokee 4xe, in Australia in August 2023.

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