[Herald Interview] Jeep Avenger looks to repeat European success in Korea

Jeep is launching its first all-electric vehicle, the Avenger, in Korea next month.

“The Avenger was the first Jeep nameplate offered with an all-electric power train. It marks the Jeep’s brand entrance in the (battery electric vehicle) arena in Korea,” said Matt Nyquist, vice president of global product planning at the Jeep brand, in an online interview with a group of reporters Tuesday.

The Jeep official pointed out that the country’s sports utility vehicle segment was growing, adding that the transformation toward electrification is “strong.”

“Within this decade, EV sales have gone from 0 to over 40 percent for import brands (in Korea),” he said.

Although the official did not speak on the anticipated number of sales for the Jeep EV here, he said that the formula of the vehicle, which was designed, developed and produced in Europe, makes it suitable for many other countries around the world and customers looking for a compact and robust styles Jeep with the state of the art technology, space and comfort.

“(The Jeep Avenger’s) bold aesthetic efficiently packs legendary Jeep capability into a compact design that provides a surprising amount of interior room,” said Nyquist.

“Our goal was to deliver an iconic Jeep without compromise on functionality a very compact and practical product with outstanding interior space ... (the Jeep Avenger) combines the perfect dimensions and the right technology to attract drivers looking for a car between four and four point two meters,”

He also highlighted that the Jeep Avenger was the most-sold car across all segments in Italy in the first half of 2024.

As the brand’s first and only all-electric vehicle so far, the electric SUV was initially launched in late 2022 with limited deliveries for a few European countries and later became widely available in 2023. In June this year, Stellantis, which manages the Jeep brand, announced that the Jeep Avenger hit the 100,000th order milestone in Europe.

Asked about growing concerns over the safety of EVs and their batteries in the wake of the recent series of EV fires here, the Jeep official acknowledged that the brand has seen the related news coming out of Korea and confirmed that Stellantis has not received any fire incidents with the Avenger so far.

According to Stellantis Korea, the Jeep Avenger set to be released in the Korean market will be equipped with battery products made by Chinese company CATL.

“Stellantis vehicles meet or exceed all of the applicable federal safety standards wherever Stellantis’ vehicles are sold,” said the official.

The Jeep Avenger can drive up to 400 kilometers per charge under the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure.

The price of the Jeep Avenger, which will be officially launched in Korea on Sept. 4, is set to begin at 52.9 million won ($39,820) for the longitude trim and 56.4 million won for the altitude trim.