Ivan Drury, senior supervisor of insights for Edmunds, does not suppose Jeep will probably be content material with “middle-of-the-pack efficiency” within the gross sales race.
One technique to make an upward transfer, Drury mentioned, is to broaden the portfolio with an electrified Compass.
Drury pointed to the success of the top-selling RAV4, which has a various slate of choices, from a traditional hybrid to the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid. On high of that, he mentioned, there are the standard gasoline fashions that embody the TRD trim for these on the lookout for off-road functionality.
The RAV4 Hybrid had its finest first half ever, with 86,673 gross sales, up 65.5 p.c from the year-earlier interval, Toyota mentioned. RAV4 Prime gross sales by way of June rose 5 p.c to 10,153.
Drury mentioned the phase calls for electrified powertrains.
“Whether or not it’s plug-in hybrid, full-on EV or simply a typical hybrid, that is one thing that undoubtedly provides a leg up,” Drury mentioned.
“It may add parity as a result of we see so many plug-in hybrids and hybrids on this realm already.”
Karl Brauer, government analyst at iSeeCars.com, mentioned a plug-in hybrid variant would work within the U.S.
“We have seen actually optimistic reactions to each [Jeep] 4xe model that has come up to now,” Brauer mentioned. “In the event that they wished so as to add that part to the Compass, it will solely additional bolster its competitiveness in that class and prolong the time-frame of which the automobile ought to be able to sturdy gross sales.”