Jeep Renegade: what we know about the upcoming “baby-Jeep” (project 519)

For the time being, the Jeep Renegade sits as the American brand’s entry-level model - but that is set to change towards the end of this year or early next year with the arrival of a new “baby-Jeep” (project 519).

These are the first spy photographs we have had of the all-new model. Even so, it is not the first time we have seen it: a few months ago it appeared without any camouflage during Stellantis’ “Dare Forward 2030” presentation, where the group announced it plans to launch 75 new electric vehicles by 2030.

And the “baby-Jeep” - its final name has yet to be confirmed - will be one of them, with Stellantis having already shown a pair of images of the future model.

What do we already know?

Surprisingly, quite a lot considering how new this proposal is. The “baby-Jeep” will become the first model from the American brand to take advantage of the synergies created by the FCA and PSA merger (which gave birth to Stellantis).

Unlike Jeep’s other smaller offerings - the Renegade and Compass - the new entry model will use ex-PSA hardware, specifically the CMP platform, the same architecture found under cars such as the Peugeot 2008 and the Opel Mokka.

That means it can, in theory, share those models’ petrol (1.2 Turbo three-cylinder) and Diesel (1.5 Turbo Diesel four-cylinder) engines. And because CMP is a multi-energy platform, the “baby-Jeep” will also be offered as a 100% electric variant.

It will, in practice, be the first 100% electric model from the American brand, strengthening Jeep’s push into electrified vehicles - it has recently introduced the Renegade and Compass e-Hybrid, adding to the 4xe plug-in hybrids that were already on sale.

For that reason, the chances of the electric “baby-Jeep” using a 100 kW (136 hp) electric motor on the front axle and a 50 kWh battery - as seen in the e-2008 and Mokka-e - are considered high.

Will it have 4×4 versions?

The biggest question surrounding the upcoming model is whether, as a Jeep, it will offer four-wheel-drive variants. The issue is that CMP, in its current form, does not allow for that option.

If that remains the case, it would be unprecedented for a Jeep not to have the possibility of four driven wheels. However, there is a reason for optimism.

Among the many details shared about Stellantis’ plans through to 2030, we learned CMP will move to a second generation called eCMP, due to be introduced at the end of this year - could the “baby-Jeep” be the first to receive it?

The next-generation platform is said to place an even greater emphasis on electrification, and with Jeep in the group it is hard to rule out the possibility that the new eCMP might also make room for a driven rear axle. We will have to wait and see.

This kind of platform adaptation would not be without precedent. Back in the FCA era, Jeep was one of the main drivers behind changes to Fiat’s Small platform - used by the Punto - which led to the widened Small Wide architecture, now used by the Renegade, Compass and other former FCA models.

Those updates enabled four-wheel-drive versions and, more recently, an independent driven rear axle, as used by Jeep’s 4xe plug-in hybrids.

When will it arrive?

In reality, the “baby-Jeep” should have been on sale for many months already. The delay is explained first by the FCA–PSA merger (announced in 2019), which forced project 519 to be restarted so it could use PSA hardware and make the most of the expected synergies; and second by the pandemic, which created all kinds of disruption in the development of new models.

The latest information suggests production of the new model should begin in November 2022 - with its unveiling expected beforehand - meaning its launch could still happen before the end of this year.

The “baby-Jeep” will be built in Tychy, Poland, where the Fiat 500 (with combustion engines) is currently produced. In the future it will be joined by at least two more crossovers: one from Fiat and another from Alfa Romeo.

The first is due in 2023 and is expected to be the production version of the Centoventi, while the second has been referred to as the Brennero and is slated to arrive in 2024.

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