Jeep Heads to Europe Through China: New Flagship to Sit on a Dongfeng Base

Jeep is making a sharp turn in its European strategy: instead of simply adapting American models, the brand is preparing an almost separate lineup for the region. Over the next four years, two compact crossovers and a large SUV co-developed with China’s Dongfeng will join the range.

The new models will sit alongside the Avenger and the Compass. Both junior crossovers will be larger than the Avenger: one is described as a compact B-SUV, the other moves closer to the C-segment and will land just below the Compass. Both will ride on the new STLA One platform, which Stellantis is preparing for several brands, but Jeep promises more than a rebadge. The brand’s European boss Fabio Catone said the newcomers will keep what “makes a Jeep a Jeep — the values, the product formula, the off-road heritage and our unique design language — in the end, our identity.”

This is a sensitive subject for Jeep. The Renegade sold well, but part of the audience saw it as not quite a real off-roader. The Avenger, on the other hand, became a European hit and took the Car of the Year title in 2023, even though it is hardly a classic Wrangler either. That is why the new STLA One models are being promised all-wheel drive, best-in-class off-road capability, proper approach and departure angles and possible tricks such as steer-by-wire.

The most controversial project is the large D-SUV. It will be built in China on a Dongfeng platform, but Jeep will keep design and tuning in its own hands. Catone compared the approach to the iPhone: the brand identity and the idea stay with Jeep, while the industrial base comes from a partner. The likely technical donor is the off-road M-Hero family, including the M817 — a roughly 5.1-metre SUV offered in China as a PHEV or a series hybrid, with outputs of up to around 900 hp.

This Jeep is aimed squarely at the Land Rover Defender and the Toyota Land Cruiser in Europe, but with a different logic: not a purely American off-roader, but a global model with Chinese hardware and European compliance. The Grand Cherokee has already given up on Europe due to weak demand, the Wrangler has been pulled over emissions rules, and plans for the Recon and the Wagoneer S appear to be on hold.

Jeep’s new course looks risky: the brand is trying to feel more European while leaning on a Chinese base. The key is that what people actually choose Jeep for — the seven slots on the grille — doesn’t get lost along the way.