TURIN – Jeep is reversing its advertising technique for the Avenger and can now supply a gasoline variant of the small SUV in all of Europe’s largest markets, including gross sales of the gasoline model in Germany, France and the U.Ok.

Stellantis’s offroad model unveiled its smallest mannequin in October on the Paris auto present as a full-electric mannequin. At the moment, the automaker deliberate to promote a gasoline variant solely in Italy and Spain, the place EV gross sales are slower than in northern Europe.

When gross sales of the Avenger began in April, Jeep additionally added the gasoline model in Poland, the place the mannequin is inbuilt Stellantis’s plant in Tychy, southwest of Warsaw.

Jeep determined in June to open orders for the gasoline variant in France and Germany after noticing that brokers had been providing ICE fashions at a premium worth in these markets. The model can even begin gross sales of the gasoline Avenger within the U.Ok. this month.

The choice to develop gross sales of the gasoline Avenger was “pragmatic” and doesn’t change the model’s long-term plan to promote solely electrical fashions in Europe by 2030, Jeep’s Europe CEO, Eric Laforge, instructed Automotive Information Europe.

The transfer protects Jeep’s franchised sellers who had been shedding potential gross sales, Laforge stated. It additionally protects prospects who will want their gasoline Avengers servicing, he stated.

Balancing EV and ICE choices

Stellantis shouldn’t be the one mass-market model struggling to discover a good stability in European markets for all-electric and combustion engine fashions.

Throughout a current roundtable interview, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda praised battery-electric vehicles however stated numerous the world shouldn’t be able to make the change to full electrification.

“Once we look worldwide, there are about 1 billion individuals who will probably be amongst our buyer base that would not have sufficient charging infrastructure in place. Subsequently, if we are saying that BEVs are the one possibility that we must always pursue, what’s going to occur to those individuals who would not have sufficient infrastructure?” Toyoda stated.

In feedback echoing this, Laforge stated charging infrastructure diversified in Europe’s main markets, which had led to the automaker selecting to initially launch the ICE model in southern European nations.

One gasoline trim

Laforge stated Jeep is providing only one trim degree – the Altitude – for the 1.2-liter gasoline Avenger. This has the identical worth throughout Europe (earlier than native taxes) to disincentivize cross-border gross sales.

In Germany, the gasoline Avenger begins at 27,000 euros, 10,000 euros under the entry-level electrical mannequin. The Altitude trim electrical variant prices 42,000 euros in Germany.

In Italy, the gasoline Avenger is available in three trim ranges, with 4 provided for the electrical mannequin.

“We’re providing restricted batches of gasoline Avengers in France, Germany and the U.Ok. and I anticipate them to account for few thousand models within the full 12 months,” Laforge stated.

Jeep stated that the share of gasoline fashions bought via Could at 87 % is deceptive as in April it was out there solely in three nations, Italy and Spain the place the gasoline was out there, and France the place it was not but. Gross sales in Germany opened in June and in U.Ok. in July.

Jeep will export electrical Avengers to Morocco, Turkey, Japan and South Korea later this 12 months. Gross sales within the U.S. and China should not deliberate.

From January to Could, Jeep bought 7,214 Avengers in Europe, in line with Dataforce. Of those 6,252 had been gasoline variations and 962 had been full electrical. Round three quarters of Avenger gross sales are in Italy.

EV share is falling

Jeep had forecast that the market share of all-electric fashions in Europe’s small SUV section would enhance this 12 months. Quite the opposite, the share of battery-electric small SUVs from all manufacturers fell to 2 % via Could. Final 12 months their share was 3 %.

The share of full-electric fashions within the small SUV sector was 4.5 % within the first 5 months in contrast with 4.8 % for the full-year 2022, in line with an ANE evaluation of gross sales by section based mostly on Dataforce figures.

Total gross sales within the section elevated by 17 % to 867,017 models via Could, with demand for battery-electric SUVs up 9.2 %.

The Hyundai Kona was the best-selling mannequin within the section, with 12,976 models bought, forward of the opposite two Stellantis fashions, the Peugeot 2008 (10,070) and the Opel Mokka (9,619). China’s MG ZS ranked fourth with 5,396 models, forward of the Avenger at 962, in line with Dataforce figures.