Rest in peace, Jeep Gladiator 4xe. We hardly knew ye. In fact, we didn’t know you at it. You were canceled before you even went on sale. Too bad, so sad. Anyway, this is just the latest electrified vehicle to be killed by Stellantis as the company reassesses its product plans. It let suppliers know the deal in a letter sent at the end of last week.
Jeep said the cancellation of the upcoming plug-in hybrid Gladiator is effective immediately, and all related activities and agreements would be concluded, according to Automotive News. It sure seems like the company was wasting no time with the decision to cut and run from what would have been the third PHEV in Jeep’s lineup. It would have joined the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe and was slated to show up at some point this year.
The Gladiator 4xe would have had a similar motor to the Wrangler’s: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder mated up to a pair of electric motors that are fed from a 17 kWh battery pack. The system is good for a stout 375 horsepower, 470 pound-feet of torque and 21-ish miles of all-electric driving range.
Jalopnik reached out to Jeep for confirmation on the matter, and we received this statement in return:
“As customers’ propulsion preferences for battery-electric trucks continue to evolve, Stellantis is reassessing its product strategy and will no longer include an electrified Gladiator variant in the Jeep lineup. The Jeep brand has already begun reinvesting funding to ensure the long-term growth of the Jeep Gladiator and will introduce even more customer-requested factory features, customization, and additional powertrain options in the near future.”
For now, the Gladiator will soldier on with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 as its only engine option, but I would definitely not be surprised if Jeep finds a way to cram its 6.4-liter Hemi V8 under the hood, à la the Wrangler Rubicon 392. That last part of the statement almost guarantees that, no? I mean, what the hell else is Jeep going to put in there? The regular turbo four from the Wrangler? I don’t think so.
Who needs electrification anyway?
This is just the latest in a series of cancellations and plan alterations Stellantis and its subsidiaries have carried out as demand for electric vehicles has slowed. Just recently, we told you that Ram was canceling its all-electric 1500 REV pickup that was meant to compete head-on with the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.
Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Maserati have all also dropped their individual plans to become EV-only brands by the end of the 2020s, and tariffs forced Dodge to kill the Charger Daytona R/T. It was the less-powerful version of the electric Charger, which is built in Canada. With the high-powered Daytona Scat Pack not selling well and being discounted, the R/T became an even tougher sell.
Of course, all of this is happening as Stellantis recommits to the V8 engine in a big way. It just showed up again in the Ram 1500, and there are rumors knocking around that it’s going to end up under the hood of the Charger once again. That’s why I really don’t think you should be too surprised if you see some sort of eight-cylinder monster pop up in the Jeep truck. Stellantis found its niche and its America in 2011.
