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Forget ESG: business is business

Born as electric, the Jeep Avenger is now offered in a gasoline version in Europe's major markets

By George Guimarães | 7/17/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

Hold on: nobody rips money. That should be Jeep’s understanding after the first months of selling the Avenger electric compact SUV in Europe.

The initial demand for the model indicated to Stellantis that if battery electric vehicles would be the future in many markets, until then, there is still space – and lots o it – for internal combustion drive, even in developed countries.
Just three months after being launched, the Avenger is now offered in Europe’s major markets in a gasoline-driven version. It means Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Eric Laforge, Jeep Europa’s CEO, said this does not mean a revision of the brand’s global strategic plan, which previews 100% electric vehicle sales in Europe by 2030, but a measure to protect the immediate business of the dealers in various countries in the region.

According to him, the gasoline-drive Avenger was being offered in these new markets at premium prices, over what the manufacturer had imagined. For Stellantis, the dealers can sell much more if the prices are lower.

Jeep’s main executive in Europe concedes that the initial idea was to sell gasoline versions only in countries that lack a good charging structure, especially in Southern Europe.

Automotive News recalls that this kind of pragmatism is shared by Toyota, whose board’s president, Akio Toyoda, said in a recent event that a great part of the global market isn’t ready for total vehicle electrification.

The executive calculated that about one billion people in the consumers’ universe worldwide do not count on a sufficient charging structure. “If we decide that BEVs are the only option we should look for, what will happen to these people who do not have a good structure?” asked Toyoda.

Part of the answer can be seen in the European market. Electric compact SUV sales have fallen over this year.
The share fell from 3% last year to 2% until May. Leading products do not overcome 10 to 12 thousand units sold.

The electric Avenger has sold nearly one thousand since April. Therefore, Jeep did not wait long to correct its versions mix and expand the combustion engine production.

Good intentions apart, business is business.

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George Guimarães

Jornalista com passagens por jornais, revistas, tevê e assessoria de imprensa, é especializado na cobertura do setor automotivo há trinta anos, período em que já viu (quase) de tudo da indústria, seus produtos, mercado, cadeia produtiva, tecnologias e políticas industriais.

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