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Now if you’re anything like me, you probably grew up dreaming of big rigs. Jeeps with their tyres outside the guards, massive American trucks and the occasional rock-crawling Landcruiser. But could it be that after nearly 50 years in Australia, the glory-days of Jeep are numbered? Let’s chat about it.
In a world where bigger isn’t always better, and the constant fuel-price pressures are rattling car owners, is the American based Jeep fraternity coming to an end for us Aussies? There’s no denying, Jeeps have always been a staple in the off-road 4×4 scene. With Wranglers and Cherokees being some extremely popular options for those who love tough wheeling.
The numbers don’t lie however, and we have our concerns for the future of the brand here on home-soil. It’s always been a little bit of a volatile time for Jeep Australia. Established in the late 70’s, Jeep imports were suspended in 1984 due to the dropping exchange rate of the Australian dollar. Therefore making them too expensive to bring in. They’ve had their fair share of struggles over the years. With the current declining sales figures, could this spell the end?
Numbers are down
Jeep throughout 2022 have been on record saying they’re committed to the Australian market despite dwindling sales figures. The annual target of 50,000 vehicles sold is, at this stage, simply unreachable. In the 2014/15 period, Jeep sold over 30,000 vehicles which, for the record, is still a long way from their goal. In 2022, they managed to sell a measly 8,000 vehicles, over 40,000 off their goal. Plus, year on year, sales numbers are down over 8%, which for a Jeep owner or salesman, is a worrying statistic.
Is Jeep just being ignored?
The other troubling fact to remember is while Jeep sales continue to decrease, the market-share of SUVs and 4×4’s is constantly increasing, which means the customers are there, but the Jeep option just isn’t hitting the mark. Now, whilst all is looking grim and hopeless, there is still a little chance for resurrection, even though Australia might not be the driving force.
Jeep to pursue other markets
CEO of Jeep, Christian Meunier, has come forward stating “the future models for the vast majority of our product (petrol or electric) are going to be right-hand drive as well. We want to grow our business in India and the Asia-Pacific. The region has a lot of ambitions.” Which to us 4×4 enthusiasts is great news. While the Australian market might be hanging in the balance, Jeep will continue to pursue the right-hand drive market in other regions, meaning they’ll more than likely continue to fight for the Aussie market.
It’s all up in the air
I guess the answer to our question isn’t quite clear yet. The next decade will tell us a lot about Jeep in Australia. If the progress continues to be in the wrong direction, then the lifespan of the iconic brand might be short-lived. But who knows what the post-Covid market will bring! It’s hard to picture a 4×4 trail without a Jeep on it, so we’re hopeful and keeping our fingers crossed!
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Consumer Reports and local social media posts show the brand to be woefully unreliable.
Is this what you’re referring to with ‘share of troubles’?
My experience is quite different to what Ziggy reports. I have owned a 2010 two-door Wrangler Rubicon from new and despite it having had a thrashing off-road, it’s the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. And no, my ownership history is not one of British Leylands, old Skodas and Ladas.
As a jeep owner I find the biggest problem ia customer service and lack of expensive parts also able to keep up with the Australian environment.
I guess what annoys me the most is that Jeep makes all these variants that come out stock with 35″ tyres and in some cases 37″ tyres also with V8 engines and bigger Diesel engines than we can get here in Australia and with design laws over here that do not let us modify our veh to that standard Is the reason I moved away from Jeep
I hope your prediction is wrong. I am on my 3rd Grand Cherokee! Why? because Jeep stood by me even after warrantee ran out, not that I had many major problems as reported on various sites. Also because I got a great comfortable ride on and off road with fantastic towing capability and a lot of extras on other brands but standard on my Jeep, for a heap less cost than a Patrol or Cruiser.
Try getting parts! no wonder they are going downhill.
Jeep are not producing the vehicles like Grand Cherokee diesels which are fantastic towing vehicles. We have a Grand Jeep Cherokee diesel and just love it. Trouble is there is nothing they are producing now that we could replace it with to tow our 21’6” caravan the distances we travel around Australia.
Jeep didn’t do themselves any favours in Australia in the early days of the Grand Cherokees, particularly with reliability and warranty, spare parts at extortionate prices and claims.
A beautiful car to look at, really comfortable but with reliability issues that made Land Rover and Range Rover look good (which is really saying something!)
Their pricing really demands high market expectations for reliability and hassle-free warranty treatment, which better than it was but still isn’t up there with Isuzu Nissan or Toyota.
With those sales numbers , is it even viable to build RHD ADR Jeeps for the Australian market ? GM killed Holden for similar reasons .
Maybe because they are crap at service.maybe they rip you off when buying parts, maybe people just don’t trust them anymore.
and now no diesels for their SUV, even if I was going to buy one, not happening now.Like do they know the Australian market wants?.
I have a 2019 Jeep Compass Limited diesel. The vehicle has an array of standard features which were options on other brands.
I’ve had a few issues with the vehicle, all are cosmetic or creature comfort related but the reliability has been excellent. In my case it is not Jeep themselves which have caused my angst, it is the dealership constantly stuffing up, telling me they’ve ordered parts when they had not, and treating me with contempt. Their turnover of service planners and technicians is very high, causing waits of up to 8 weeks just to have the warranty repairs done. Sadly, this gives Jeep a bad name when it’s not really their fault, and I bet I’m not the only one feeling like this. Mind you they are a multi-brand dealership and I will never buy another vehicle from them, because I’m sure if have the same after sales experience.
I’m a three time Grand Cherokee owner and swear by my Jeeps. However, without a decent engine and poor towing capability, the WL Grand Cherokees is way off the mark. We were misled by Meunier last year when he said the new WL would have equal if not better towing than the WK2 diesel. Rubbish.
If Jeep intend to put the GME twin turbo straight six in the Grand and make it available in Australia with 3500 kg towing, they better say so soon before those looking to update their tow vehicle, like me, look to an alternative.
Stupid rising pricing has made bread and butter products like the Grand Cherokee no longer in competition to other vehicles in that space ( Everest, MUX etc) People who don’t want a Land Cruiser will not plonk down 100K+ for a profoundly historically unreliable car…..82K plus on road base model? dream on….
Even the the Rubicon Gladiator ute is a ridiculous price.. 92K+ for diesel drive away…. What do they expect…..
I absolutely love my Gladiator but a new Rubicon ordered today will set you back over 100k with the options ticked which is just ridiculous.
Yes, sales have tanked, and it’s not the market, but their own fault. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Woeful build quality, so-so reliability, and unbelievable spare part prices. Got a spec of dirt in your fuel line? That’ll be $47000 dollars thanks! Come on back now!
Fiat Chrysler have been screwing their customers for years, and are responsible for their own demise. I like the Wrangler, I really do. But I’d be nuts to even think about buying one. The sooner Jeep fades away, the better, because customers deserve better than what they’re getting.
I purchased my Jeep grand Cherokee new in 2012 towed caravans everywhere. The Fiat 3ltr diesel has never missed a beat and here I am in 2023 and its still going strong. I have two friends who purchased a Parado in the same year and both of them have had the turbo charger break down in the middle of nowhere and it cost them big bucks. The electronics of the 2012 jeep was and probably still is streets ahead of what Toyota had the time. Likewise, in appearance in 2012 as one motor writer stated it was like looking at stallion compared to a draft horse.
As a Jeep owner ( two Jeep Cherokee kj’s) I will never buy another.
Jeep Aust are out of touch, vehicles too expensive, poor service and added to that spare parts availability and price.
They make parts obsolete when they are still available ex US.
Don’t hold stock of parts in capitals out side of Melbourne then want to charge a significant freight to get them in.
Added to that from my experience when I had service carried out by Jeep in Adelaide they tried to have work carried out when not required and outright lied about it.
So my thoughts the sooner Jeep go under down under the better then hopefully some independent can pick up Jeep distribution in Australia and return it to an organisation and a brand of respect.
I love Jeeps and have owned several over the years
They’ve always been a bit unrefined on road but tough as off-road. The cheaper price made that trade off ok.
But Jeep have lost the plot with the JL Wrangler. What used to be $40k in the JK jumped up to $60k.. It’s just way overpriced.
If they reduce the price to realistic levels then I’m sure sales would soar again.
I also have had a great run with my 2015 Grand Cherokee ecodiesel, great towing vehicle, comfortable on road & off & surprisingly this has been one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned over 40yrs of motoring. Their biggest let down is the cost of servicing & customer service offered by Jeep Australia. The eco diesel is one of the best diesel powerplants I have ever driven, sadly Jeep is dropping this powerplant which will most likely see me looking at a different brand. The new Everest seems to be plagued with many electrical problems, Toyota Prados are underpowered & problem riddled with their 2.8 Diesel – think I’ll just keep the Jeep for the time being
If Jeep Aus were able to bring in the 392 Jeep Wrangler, their problems would be solved.
So many Nissan and Toyota fans would jump ship for a stronger and more capable solid front axle vehicle such as the wrangler.
Although I have never been a Jeep owner, their reputation for poor reliability makes me feel that I never will own one.
The other thing that has soiled my feelings for Jeep is that they seem to be driven by very aggressive drivers on the road.
Tailgating even when they are towing large trailers and at the speed limit, they always seem to want to push the vehicle ahead of them.
They are the BMW drivers of the 4X4 world.
What a strange article…. you are using partial sales data this year (when they have had problems with supply and the end of the WK2 model), to say they have falling sales, but really the end result of 6658 is about average. You also use a spike in sales as the starting point to show a fall in sales, that spike was due to very good exchange rate and far less competition from vehicles like the everest and other ute based wagons.
As you can see before the big spike, Jeep sold around the 5000-6000 numbers.
2009 4193
2010 5975
2011 8648
The other reason Jeep is likely to stick around is that Stellantis Australia import a lot of different brands now, if you add them all together they are doing pretty well.
If you want to be worried about a brand, look at land rover.