New Jeep leader to face sales, EV challenges

Christian Meunier has led Jeep through a transformational period that saw its share of hurdles.

The SUV brand stepped into electrification, moved upstream with the luxurious Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs, and expanded the reach of the Grand Cherokee with a roomier variant that added a third row of seating.

But Jeep has had a more difficult time than many rivals rebounding from the pandemic and chip shortage that stymied production across the industry. Its U.S. sales are on pace to decline for a fifth consecutive year, and Stellantis idled the Illinois plant that built the Jeep Cherokee in February after demand for that vehicle plunged.

Now Meunier, who joined the automaker in 2019 from Infiniti, is stepping aside. Antonio Filosa, Stellantis' COO in South America, will replace Meunier on Nov. 1, the automaker said last week.

Meunier will leave to focus on "personal projects and interests," he said in announcing his departure on LinkedIn. In the post, Meunier said he was "fiercely protective of the brand as we worked to boost its image with electrification and technology."

"Jeep is one of the most beautiful and powerful brands in the world," he wrote. "It is a brand I loved well before I answered the call to lead it, and I will continue to do so. It's crazy to think about what we managed to do during some of the most challenging times for our industry."

Filosa will assume control of one of the industry's most iconic brands as it continues to evolve. The U.S. product portfolio will get its first EVs in 2024 with the Wrangler-inspired Recon and upscale Wagoneer S. Jeep made its global debut in the EV space this year in Europe with the Avenger, a nameplate it has declared too small for American tastes.

With the upcoming EVs, Jeep will look to build on the success it has had with the Wrangler 4xe, the top-selling plug-in hybrid in the U.S. since 2021, and the Grand Cherokee 4xe, which has moved into second place among PHEVs this year. A Grand Wagoneer 4xe is expected to join the lineup in 2024.

Jeep's U.S. sales nearly touched 1 million in 2018 before falling below 800,000 in 2020 and 700,000 last year. Its 12 percent drop in the first half of 2023 was the steepest decrease among the industry's 33 largest brands and contrasted with a 13 percent gain for the industry overall.

The brand is banking that the Recon, the Wagoneer S and a potential Cherokee replacement down the line could be the remedy.

"What I'm seeing specifically for Jeep is that they made a concerted effort to go a little bit more upmarket, their vehicles are more expensive than they ever were," Jessica Caldwell, director of insights at Edmunds, told Automotive News. "They introduced pretty pricey vehicles with the Grand Wagoneer. Even the Jeep Grand Cherokee three row starts at over [$40,000]. Right now is an interesting time because for a long time, people wanted the highly contented and more expensive larger SUVs, and I think that they still do, but people can't afford them because interest rates are so high."

Caldwell said eliminating the Cherokee leaves a hole in Jeep's lineup between the Compass, which starts around $30,000, and the Grand Cherokee, which starts at more than $41,000 for the two-row version, both before shipping costs.

"You're either going to have to move consumers down, or move consumers upmarket, which I think is pretty challenging," Caldwell said. "It's a bit of a hole. It is in a bit of a sweet spot in terms of pricing, so I'd imagine that they'd want to fill that hole at that price point."

Filosa will have plenty of experience to draw from when he confronts the obstacles facing Jeep. He has been a member of the top executive team at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and then at Stellantis since 2018.

The Italian joined Fiat in 1999 and has a background in business management and strategy as well as "extensive experience in purchasing and manufacturing operations," the company said.

"It is a great honor to become part of the legendary Jeep brand," Filosa said. "I am looking forward to relocating to the U.S. and working with the team as we continue with the electrification of our global portfolio and the growth of the brand across the world."

Meunier was a proponent of delivering a dealership experience that captured the brand's spirit. He said in April 2022 that more than 300 dealerships would be adding Jeep-focused showrooms over the next two years.

Although Jeep has a healthy product pipeline, Meunier admitted that some dealers weren't sold on making the investment to build a specialized showroom.

It will be up to Filosa to show that Jeep can recapture the momentum it had before the pandemic, while going up against competition that has gotten tougher in the meantime.

"They occupied such a niche in the marketplace, and everyone else just came up to date with introducing so many more SUVs," Caldwell said. "Vehicles like the Ford Bronco are eating into their share. With all the other automakers creating so much product in that area, I think it's going to be tough for them to continue with those high volumes, particularly since they have moved a little bit more upmarket and the pricing is high."