CARS.COM - For a trio of aging Jeep SUVs, replacements are finally near. A Jeep executive told the Detroit News this week that the brand will unveil a replacement for the Compass and Patriot in September, as well as debut a redesigned Wrangler in the first half of 2017.
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We reported the replacements more than two years ago, but this week's comments add more specifics on timing. Mike Manley, who heads up the Jeep brand, spoke to reporters at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' proving grounds in Chelsea, Mich., this week. (Jeep is an FCA brand.) Manley said Jeep would unveil a single SUV, which replaces both the Patriot and Compass, at a factory in Brazil in the fall. That plant, as well as facilities in China and Mexico, reportedly will build the SUV.
Jeep targets a U.S. debut for the SUV, the name of which is decided but still unknown, at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show in November with an on-sale date sometime thereafter. That's later than what we reported previously, but Manley disputed the notion of any setbacks.
"There's been no delay in terms of our production cadence that we expected," he told the Detroit News.
Manley also said Jeep will take the wraps off the next-generation Wrangler in the first half of 2017; Todd Goyer, head of Jeep communications, said it would likely go on sale in early 2018. A Wrangler-based pickup truck will also come in 2018, solidifying what our editors at PickupTrucks.com reported earlier this year.
Goyer confirmed the vehicles and dates to Cars.com.
Through May 2016, Wrangler sales - which include the four-door Wrangler Unlimited - are down 3.6 percent. But Patriot sales are up 4.3 percent through May, and Compass sales have increased 72 percent. Much of the latter may have stemmed from sky-high deals: Incentives on the Compass average $4,631 per vehicle so far in 2016, up $772 versus the year-ago period, according to Autodata.
The Patriot is also heavy on deals, but FCA seldom discounts the Wrangler; incentives in 2016 have averaged just $424 per car. With a new Wrangler in the wings, will shoppers see new rebates and financing offers on the outgoing SUV? You'll have to wait and see.
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