Jeep announces plug-in hybrid version of Jeep Renegade by 2020 | McLarty Daniel CDJR of Bentonville

Fiat-Chrysler, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat, announced earlier this week that they plan to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of the popular Jeep Renegade in early 2020. It comes on the heels of last year’s announcement that the company will also offer a plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler for the first time in 2020 as well.

Unlike battery-only cars like the Tesla, plug-in hybrid vehicles have both a battery pack and a gasoline engine that work in tandem to extend mileage, with power provided by either the battery, gasoline or both simultaneously.

The Renegade announcement is the next step in the company’s turn toward electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids spelled out in the new five-year plan released earlier this year, with FCA saying it would invest $10.4 billion in electric and hybrid technology, and offer up to 30 different vehicles with the option of electric powertrains by 2022. The plans for Jeep call for 10 plug-in hybrid models and four fully electric models within five years.

Currently, the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica is the only CDJR vehicle available with a plug-in hybrid system. The first hybrid minivan in the world, the system allows a 2019 Pacifica hybrid to achieve fuel mileage of over 84 miles per gallon, or run on battery only for more than 30 miles. The 2019 Ram 1500 also has a so-called “mild hybrid” system called eTorque, which uses a generator on the engine to send excess power to a suitcase-sized battery pack mounted in the rear wall of the cab. When the system senses a need for more torque while towing or hauling, the generator instantly switches to a powerful electric motor, sending up to 130 ft-lbs. of additional grunt directly to the crankshaft through the same high-strength belt used to turn the generator.

The plug-in hybrid 2020 Renegade will be built at the FCA plant in Melfi, Italy, which currently produces all Renegade models for both North America and the rest of the world. Since the Renegade was introduced in 2014, over 742,000 examples have been built there. FCA has dedicated a $230 million investment in the Melfi factory to gear up for the production of electric and hybrid powertrains. The 2019 Renegade received a major update and redesign for the new model year, in addition to a new 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood, jointing the 2.4 liter four-cylinder. The 1.3-liter turbo four is expected to be the gasoline component of the 2020 Renegade’s new PHEV system.

Jeep has not announced where they plan to sell the new plug-in hybrid Renegade, or what can of mileage and range we can expect when it does debut, but with America gone big on electric and hybrid vehicles of late, it’s a good bet we’ll see it in the United States.

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