Jeep eyes U.S. comeback following yearslong sales troubles

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Jeep thinks Americans still love a good comeback story.

It’s a mantra that echoes throughout the excellent SUV brand, from its CEO to its marketing campaign. LL Great J — After years of sales and market share declines that hurt Jeep and its parent company Stellantis.

“This isn’t just a comeback. This is the Jeep brand taking back a segment that we invented and defined,” Jeep CEO Bob Broderdorf said during a recent media event.

Jeep has hit a dead end this decade, despite the brand’s well-known off-road prowess that carried it through much of the last century. There have been six consecutive years of declines in U.S. sales due to a leadership carousel, a shortage of new products, and a failed premium pricing strategy to increase profits.

But now the coveted SUV brand has realigned its prices across its range, posted its best quarterly sales gain in more than two years and is in the midst of its biggest mainstream product boom in a decade.

“We’re going to grow and grow and grow,” Broderdorf told CNBC while sitting in a redesigned 2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer at the company’s design dome in suburban Detroit. “That’s the mission. And do it in a healthy way.”

The redesigned Grand Wagoneer is emblematic of the brand’s troubles and comeback attempt. This was Jeep’s foray into luxury, topping $111,000 fully loaded in 2021; It was relatively overpriced and overly complex compared to its peers, and suffered from various production and quality problems.

The redesigned model lineup is cheaper, simpler and better positioned relative to other large American SUVs rather than foreign rivals like Land Rover. Production problems have also decreased.

“We confused our buyers. We confused our dealers,” Broderdorf said at the media event. “I’m here to say we got the message. We’re fixing it.”

But in the automotive world, some things take longer to fix than others. The brand’s sales remain significantly below expectations, and Jeep’s overall quality issues remain a work in progress following a retooling of its vehicles and pricing strategy.

“This is one of the areas that needs improvement. We’re improving, but we have the proof,” Broderdorf told CNBC.

Jeep ranked last among 32 major automotive brands Consumer Reports’ annual rating last year included a combination of road test scores, safety ratings, and predicted reliability and owner satisfaction data.

The brand recently announced multiple product recalls. 320,000 plug-in hybrids Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee models due to fire risk. The company filed a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration late last month, but no resolution was offered.

The company told CNBC in December that a solution is expected that includes a software update for the vehicles’ high-voltage battery pack control module to improve diagnostic capability for early detection of internal battery damage.

The recall comes at an inopportune time as Jeep has introduced the Wrangler-inspired, all-electric Recon SUV. The vehicle will be unveiled ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, after making its debut as a vehicle. Concept vehicle in 2021.

Part of Jeep’s “comeback” included an aggressive push in new marketing and advertising campaigns that included actor and musician LL Cool J and a raunchy ad campaign featuring the comedian. Iliza Shlesinger For Jeep Grand Wagoneer.

The campaigns, run since June by Jeep’s new vice president of marketing and communications, Wendy Orthman, are consistent with Broderdorf’s comeback mantra, which includes the song LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

“Don’t call it a comeback. I’ve been here for years,” the iconic rapper and actor says in the song featured in the ad campaign, calling Jeep “the original influencer.”

Industry watchers said marketing and advertising efforts have helped, but the most important thing for the company remains new products, especially the Jeep Cherokee, which competes in the hugely popular compact/midsize SUV markets.

“They’re still trying to fix the problems, get the pricing right, get the product right,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence at S&P Global Mobility. “But there’s a lot of potential, especially with the Cherokee coming back. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, and I think that will put them in a good place.”

The company scrapped an earlier version of the Cherokee as well as a smaller SUV called the Renegade in 2023 due to profit pressures under former CEO Carlos Tavares.

Jeep’s sales in the third quarter of this year increased by less than 0.5% compared to the previous year. Jeep’s U.S. market share has fallen from 5.4% in 2019 to 3.7% since 2024, according to Cox Automotive.

Jeep is facing a spiraling sales slump that began after the brand hit an all-time high with sales of more than 973,000 SUVs in 2018. The brand’s sales have since fallen 40%, falling to less than 590,000 units in the U.S. last year.

Jeep’s average transaction prices, or ATPs, were around $54,000 in 2023-24 as sales declined; That was well above the industry average of about $48,500 or less at the time, according to Cox Automotive.

Jeep’s ATPs were below $49,800 in the third quarter of this year, according to Cox. This remains a premium over the industry average of $48,588 but is much lower than in previous years.

One thing that hasn’t dropped for Jeep this year, according to Cox Automotive, is inventory levels. Jeep had the highest days of supply of any major brand other than Ford’s Lincoln, with 146 days in October. The industry average for lead days was 88 days, according to Cox’s report, which calculates the amount of days stock dealers have based on recent sales.

“When we look at mainstream brands, recent stock trends reveal that some manufacturers are moving into overstock territory as consumer demand shifts.” Erin KeatingCox Automotive executive analyst said in a blog post Thursday, citing Jeep specifically.

Jeep’s turnaround plan began with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, who previously led the brand. It gained momentum with the support of Filosa under the management of Broderdorf.

“FY26 is not going to be a 1 million unit year because they’re fixing some things. Once you get off track, it can take a while to get back on track, but it starts with the product,” Brinley said. “And that’s what they’re going to come up with in 2026.”