Jeep’s former global CEO had to be convinced there’s a market in Australia for the brand’s smallest model ever, which is part of the reason the 2025 Jeep Avenger has taken almost two years to arrive here.
The Avenger was revealed in September 2022, with deliveries beginning in Europe early in 2023.
It was confirmed for Australia in August 2023, and finally launched locally this month, becoming Jeep’s first electric vehicle (EV) and its smallest model since the original Willys army truck.
It’s also the first light-sized electric SUV to go on sale in Australia, given the electric Mini Aceman is officially classed as a light car (not SUV) and first customer deliveries have been pushed back to early next year, but it will be quickly followed by the new Hyundai Inster in early 2025.
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The Jeep Avenger measures just 4084mm long and is priced from $49,990 plus on-road costs, while the Aceman is slightly shorter at 4076mm but pricier (from $55,990), and the four-seat Inster is even shorter at 3825mm but will be priced from under $40,000.
Speaking at the local launch of the Avenger last week, Jeep Australia product manager Bridget Thomson said Christian Meunier, who was replaced by Antonio Filosa as Jeep’s global CEO in November 2023, took some time to sign off the tiny electric SUV’s business case for this market.
“So it took some time to do our unique Australian regulation development process,” she said. “Plus we did a lot of work actually convincing the then Jeep CEO that this car was made for Australia as well.
“It is a little bit smaller than the other cars in our market, which took a little bit of convincing that, even though it’s smaller, it’s definitely still worthwhile in Australia.
“We had to do a little bit of ‘we definitely do want it’.”
Asked whether Jeep Australia was still confident of the Avenger’s success amid slowing EV sales, Ms Thomson said the company’s new entry model would be popular because of its design and driving experience, not because it’s an EV.
“I don’t think there’s an issue. I think in the [EV] market we’re shifting from early adopters to early mainstream, so that’s going to take time,” she said.
“The fantastic thing about this car and what dealers are saying is that it looks and feels like an internal combustion car.
“So think a lot of people will be more inclined to make that electrified switch because it’s not as ‘oh my God it’s an electric car, it’s all new, this is one-pedal driving, there’s not a lot of buttons’.
“There’s none of that. It does still look and feel like an internal combustion car, so we’re not concerned at all about timing.”
While the soon-to-be-replaced MG ZS EV is currently Australia’s cheapest electric SUV at $39,990 drive-away, the Avenger’s circa-$50k starting price is also undercut by other bigger battery-powered SUVs including the Chery Omoda E5 ($42,990 before on-roads).
It’s also undercut by the larger-still Leapmotor C10 (from $45,888 before on-roads), which is already being sold here via the Stellantis dealer network in a joint-venture distribution deal with the Chinese carmaker.
But Jeep Australia believes the Avenger will stand out from the crowd due to its unique flavour.
“It’s a very interesting time in the market and we always look at those things,” she said.
“We’re not closed minded to the fact that there’s all these competitors, but we’re confident in the fact that this is very different from the rest on the market.
“Being steeped in that history – it’s very much a Jeep, we have that capability, which I don’t think many of those competitors can actually do realistically – I think we’ve got a very unique selling point that not a lot of people can actually replicate at all.”
Ms Thomson wouldn’t reveal sales targets for the Avenger or nominate any direct competitors, but said Jeep’s off-road heritage would position it uniquely in an increasingly cluttered local EV market.
“I think we’ve stuck with our plan to launch the car and how we position it,” she said.
“So I don’t think what’s going on in the market has impacted us. We’ve got to focus on what we do and we’ll lean into that as much as we can, rather than deal with all the noise in the background.
“We’ve done some local marketing content. It’s a very unique car with a very unique selling point, so we’re leaning into that as much as we can, to differentiate ourselves from others on the market.
“We are the smallest electric SUV in the market at the moment.”
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