It’s very interesting the way the headlines are reading about the recently announced decision by Stellantis – the parent company of U.S. brands such as Jeep, Ram trucks, Dodge and Chrysler – that it won’t be trying to sell plug-in hybrid iterations of its vehicles anymore. The story published by Automotive News – which was once a news outlet about the goings-on in the automotive industry that morphed into an amen-chorus for everything and everyone that is destroying the industry – carries the following headline:
“Stellantis cancels entire plug-in hybrid lineup that made it a segment leader”
Notice the subtle leading of that headline. The way it implies – without actually stating it – that it is a bad thing that Stellantis is cancelling its entire plug-in hybrid lineup. The lineup that made it a segment leader.
Who would want to not be a “segment leader”?
Well, maybe a vehicle manufacturer that is losing money on being that kind of “segment leader.”
Jeep has been trying to sell a plug-in version of the Wrangler – among others – for a couple of years now. The plug-in iteration of the Wrangler lists for $49,846. That’s a lot of money to spend on a Wrangler – especially when you can buy one without the plug-in hybrid drivetrain for $31,760. That’s a nearly $20k difference. For that much less, you could have a Wrangler with a 3.6 liter V6 that touts 17 MPG in city driving and 23 on the highway – or you could spend that much more to get a Wrangler without the V6 and get a 2.0 liter turbo-hybrid-augmented four that touts 20 MPG.
To be fair to the Wrangler 4xe, it also touts 375 horsepower (vs. 285 for the non-hybrid Wrangler’s 3.6 liter V6) and it can be driven for 22 miles on battery power alone, assuming a fully charged battery.
Apparently, not many Jeep buyers thought that was worth paying almost $20k more for. More finely, it is likely there were many fewer would-be Jeep buyers who could even afford to pay $20k more for that. This is another iteration of the blinkered thinking that would-be Dodge buyers can afford to spend $20k more on an “electrified” Charger – never mind whether they want to.
These two false premises underlie the now-stalling push to electrify and hybridize everything on wheels; i.e., that there are enough people who think it’s worth the money and have the money. There is also the fatuity that underlies both of these premises, which is that staving off “climate change” is worth this kind of money to enough people to make it an economically viable proposition.
Well, the verdict is in.
There aren’t. It does not take a Werner Heisenberg to figure this one out. The Jeep Wrangler is supposed to be Jeep’s affordable vehicle. Making it into a $50k (almost) plug-in hybrid is like turning the Dollar Store into the $20 Dollar Store.
The whole stupid business is, of course, not driven by market forces but by compliance pressure – which has been relieved somewhat by the Trump administration, which dialed back federal fuel efficiency compliance fines and also the bar that must be complied with.
But it came about three years too late.
Plug-in hybrids have been flooding what isn’t a market for them over the past three or so years in anticipation of a 50 MPG federal requirement that can only be complied with by manufacturing lots of plug-in hybrids and EVs. Poor Stellantis – poor everyone in this business – assumed they’d be having to comply with that 50 MPG standard and thus they made vehicles like the Wrangler 4xe.
The trouble was no one had to buy them.
Well, now that Stellantis, et al no longer have to make them, they’re deciding not to.
“Stellantis continually evaluates its product strategy to meet evolving customer needs and regulatory requirements. With customer demand shifting, Stellantis will phase out plug‑in hybrid (PHEV) programs in North America beginning with the 2026 model year,” reads a statement released the other day.
Automotive News read it and weeped. The “segment leader” is leading the way back from the table at which the plug-in hybrid/EV Kool Aid was being served – and shame on them!
No, shame on outlets such as Automotive News that slant the news in the direction they want the minds of those reading it to lean.
The good news is the jig is up. People see. Not just that the hybrid/EV thing is a fraud but that the underlying justification – a “changing climate” – is an even worse fraud. They are done with such frauds and – to its credit – the Trump administration has helped bigly in exposing the fraud by lessening the pressure to go along with the fraud.
The worry is that Trump will be gone in about three years – and what might come apres the Orange Man remains to be seen.
. . .
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They meant it was a segment leader in loosing money and going out of business….
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The big car manufacturers have only themselves to blame for the mess most of them are in now.
Had they all – or at least a majority of them – called BS on the whole “climate change-related electric transition” BS, the politicians would have no choice but to back off.
Just like the general populace with the Covid scam, with “masks”, “social distancing”, “safe and effective vaccines” etc etc, they enthusiastically participated.
Now with Trump it seems to be one step forward, one and a half steps back.
Some relief, yes, but not so good in other areas and the future doesn’t look all that bright for the industry, considering not just who may be the next winner in the presidential selection, but also because the EU is still fully into the “EV transition” and good ole Britainistan has just decreed that by 2040, ALL heavy vehicles, including long-distance trucks, must be fully electric.
There will be subsidies of up to 120,000 GBP (about $161,000) available, because in the “modern” clown world, where men are women and anybody can be a “birthing person”, this is the definition of “market forces”.
The 27-year old Labour MP pushing this is confident it can be done. He has a degree in History & Politics, which makes him eminently qualified in such matters like transport, even though he’s never held a real job in his short life.
Rejoice, comrades, for with enough subsidies and mandates, we will overcome even physics!
100 percent, John –
Back in 2016, I had some private back-and-forths with people at VW. This was during the “cheating” imbroglio. I practically begged them to fight rather than cave. They, of course, caved. Result? The ID Buzz and other such IDs.
Now we just need Diesel back without all the emissions crap and also with stick for the 2dr.
I’d consider trading my Bronco for a manual diesel 2dr JL
The problem with this is the diesel crap (Tier 4 regs) were created to limit competition, in other words, keep out Asian diesel engines. If they remove these regs, our big 3 diesel manuf. would be in big trouble. We’ll see if things change, so far nothing concrete, they’re just not enforcing (you still have to buy it).
The only segment Stellantis leads is the JUNK segment!
About a year ago I seen the 4xe for like 20k off MSRP couldn’t give them away but all jeeps are way marked down people finally figured out there junk and stupid expensive jeeps needs to start making simple off road vehicles again .
This is typical of the way the media distorts language to push their narrative. Here they use a meaningless phrase (or one with no meaning to the general public) “segment leader”. In a context that implies everyone should know how important it is to be a segment leader. So they can then push the narrative that this company just made a bone headed decision that will cause them to lose money.
Ukraine is the ‘segment leader’ among countries suffering population loss.
What if they win, but nobody shows up for the awards banquet? 🙁
The lamestream media is the segment leader in bulls**t.
I would say it’s the federal government that is the “segment leader” in BS (regardless of who’s president), followed by lamestream/ corporate media, and perhaps shady groups like the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Remember the MASSIVE narrative push around the dreaded ‘Rona, lockdowns, face diapers, and mRNA “vaccines”? MOST if not ALL of it was pure BS, though they routinely accused people who pointed it out of “Spreading mis/ disinformation”. CCDH even ran something called “The Disinformation Dozen” that targeted a dozen people THEY accused of spreading disinformation around the “Safe & Effective!” COVID jabs.
For all the questionable things Donald Trump has done upon becoming president again, he did do something good recently by withdrawing from 66 globalist organizations, many of which were all in with “Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change action”. Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change zealots are likely freaking out in hysteria over it, but they’re little more than dupes for the same billionaires they likely preach hatred of, as the whole climate change thing has been and still is little more than a ginormous scam for wealthy elitist snobs to make even MORE money at the expense of Americans. John Kerry (who once ran for president) all but admitted as much a few years ago in one of those elitist meetings on cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/great-reset/trump-withdraws-from-66-globalist-organizations/
Out here in outdoorsy blue state Colorado you’d think this would sell like hotcakes. But no, I’ve seen maybe two in the wild. But go past any Jeep dealer and there’s at least one row of 4Xe models, all with deep discounts.
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” as the old saying goes. Updated for the 21st century: “You can force manufacturers to build something but you can’t make them sell it!”
The reality of communism. Command manufacturers to make what nobody wants, to not make what everybody does want, and then be surprised by empty shelves, misery, and black markets.
You hit it out of the park on this one, Eric.
Te salud, und ein Prost. 🙂
Thanks, Adi!
The project is helping. The new flywheel sits on top of the pinball machine, just a few feet from my desk – so I can bask in its ethereal glow!
I will add that just as the original VW bug had a great 70-year production run, the current porked-out Jeep — which shares only a 7-bar grille with its illustrious ancestor the Jeep CJ — has about reached the end of the road.
Its faux-rustic slab sides, flat windows and crude exposed hinges produce poor aerodynamics and lackluster mileage. Plugging it into the freaking wall is probably the stupidest idea since New Coke.
You can buy a vehicle that closely resembles the Jeep CJ — the Mahindra Roxor. But it ain’t leeeeegal to drive on the street. 🙁
Cow more aerodynamic than a Jeep…
https://shorturl.at/h4yE8
I could append some old Iowa jokes about ‘cow tipping.’
But for your sake, I will refrain. 🙂
Isnt cow tipping something you have to do in the new and improved DEI Hooters?
Would that be better or worse than Only Fans going DEI?
Asking for a friend…….
There is no better or worse. Just equality. Hillary Clinton is just as sexy as Oprah.
:-(===
Sexy: “That word you use, I don’t think it means what you think it does”.
🙂
And yet the looks of the jeep are its greatest virtue. It simply doesn’t look like all the rest of the wind tunnel optimized, alien eye headlight sporting SUVs on the market. Sure there is way too much plastic and fragility, but if I was shopping for something new a Gladiator would be high on the list because I like the look.
But then, all three of my Willys are at least 75 years old.
The manufacturers are still hedging that Impeachment 2.0 will happen leading to a Gavin Newsom Presidency and 50 MPG CAFE or worse starting in 2029/2030.
As for the plug-in hybrid Wrangler, the problem isn’t just about getting a turbo 2.0 L 4-cylinder instead of a V6 but that the engine is *Fiat* technology.
How many of those are going to make it to the end of the payment terms?
>Gavin Newsom Presidency
God help us, if that happens.
> *Fiat* technology
Hey, hey.
Lighten up, Roscoe.
FIAT is an ancient marque.
You don’t get to be ancient by doing bad shit.
I *loved* my 1978 FIAT 131 Brava.
It was a great car to drive, and very economical to buy and to operate.
Problem is, it was too mechanically sophisticated for the average Joe.
When the service manual says, “Replace the timing belt,” that is not a “suggestion,” it is a stipulation. Ignore it at your peril. When the old timing belt fails, and the overhead valves (driven by an overhead camshaft) crash into the pistons, don’t come crying to FIAT. But people (Americans) did. Idiots.
The “idiocy” is designing an “Interference” engine in the first place, especially with a synthetic rubber timing belt, given the state of pliable materials technology in the 1970s.
‘Automotive News read it and wept. The “segment leader” is leading the way back from the table where the Kool-Aid was being served.’ — eric
Poetic! And hilarious! I choked on muh coffee, and emitted a loud hoot.
Stellantis — a company run by abject eurotards — is drying up like a little brown puddle on the sidewalk. Ol’ Wolf Richter, a former Ford dealer, published this devastating chart, showing that Stellantis’ US sales have crashed 44% from their 2015 peak:
https://wolfstreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/US-auto-sales-01-06-2026-Stellantis.png
What the hell did they expect, as the company cancelled the Chrysler 300, the Challenger, the Charger — and tried to substitute ersatz baaaattery powered devices?
Indeed, Wolf Richter’s Jan 6 article leads off with a chart showing that total US auto sales are at the same level as … 1986. This isn’t just a mature industry — it is a completely brain dead, gov-whipped, and castrated ruin, fit only for the glue factory.
American auto, stay away from me
American auto, mama, let me be
Don’t come a-hangin’ around my door, I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do than spend my time growin’ old with you
— The Guess Who, American Woman (1970)
Is Wolf still a believer in the “EV revolution”?
I had to stop reading his site because while he can come up with some decent analysis at times, he has definitely been affected by the air in SF…or whatever it is there that turns even many otherwise sensible people into statist zombies.
What Stellantis in the USSA has done is the equivalent of flying into a mountain they saw coming a hundred miles away.