LA TRIBUNE- The world is sometimes transformed by pressing environmental needs, sometimes by economic effects resulting from the health crisis or even international geopolitics… In this context, what is Jeep’s response for the consumer or for the Stellantis group?
CHRISTIAN MEUNIER- The great transformation of Jeep is its electrification. I remind you that we have announced that we will be 100% electric in 2030 in Europe, and in the United States, our first market, we will reach 50% electrified sales on the same date. Because at Jeep, we consider that electrification is not a constraint but an opportunity to make even better cars. Electrification makes it possible to have more torque, but also to develop better performance on the terrain variations, which is very important for our customers. Jeep must remain a brand dedicated to adventure, it will simply be more efficient and quieter.
When we think of Jeep, we don’t think of sobriety as we can hear it in Europe and especially in a context of shortages and energy savings…
Not all models in the Jeep range are suitable for the European market. This is why we have designed a new model, the Avenger, which will be more compact and 100% electric. It will complete the Renegade which was already a compact model and which we have electrified. Of course, Jeep doesn’t have the most efficient design from an environmental point of view… But I see that the market exists, you only have to take a look in the streets to see SUVs everywhere. We are therefore working to provide an environmentally sustainable response to our customers. I remind you that in France and Germany, our range has been fully electrified since this summer. We are the first brand of the Stellantis group to achieve such a shift in these two important markets.
The Avenger, is it a plan to conquer Europe?
Yes. Our goal is to rebalance our overall sales and ensure that North America only accounts for 50% of our sales in 2030, compared to 63% today. We believe that in Europe we have real room for manoeuvre. We have an excellent image, which dates from the Liberation. Our analysis is that we have only scratched the surface of our potential in Europe. The Avenger should allow us to activate this potential by attracting new customers who would never have thought of buying a Jeep before.
What are your goals ?
We are not in a volume approach. We are committed to creating value for our customers. However, I note that in Italy, Jeep holds 5% of the market… Whereas in France, we are only at 0.5%.
In a context of high inflation, the price of cars but also of energy, not to mention the cost of money which is also increasing with the rise in interest rates, is it that you are not arriving at the worst time? in Europe with your electrification strategy?
There is room in Europe once morest a Volkswagen or a Peugeot which is positioned on the premium generalist. This is our ambition. As I was saying, we are not chasing volumes, which allows us to detach ourselves from the economic pressure. On the issue of prices, our policy will be to position ourselves competitively in the segment once morest our main competitors.
Faced with the anti-SUV discourse, your competitors can come back to their classic sedans, not you…
The Avenger is a response to this discourse. We will change brand perception to make our models acceptable. In California, we managed to revive sales of our Wrangler by electrifying it with plug-in hybrid technology. In Europe, car sizes are shrinking. Customers in the compact segment (category C) are in the process of switching to the city car segment (category B). We observe roughly the same phenomenon in Japan and South Korea where we will also market the Avenger.
You have a global strategy. However, Carlos Tavares (CEO of Stellantis, parent company of Jeep, editor’s note) announced a shift in Jeep’s strategy in China called light asset and which consists of ceasing the production of vehicles on site to switch to import. . This is a setback in the world’s largest automotive market…
It’s a refocusing on an import strategy that works very well via two models, the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee. Stellantis made this decision in the face of geopolitical uncertainties but also for financial reasons. In China, we are therefore going to focus on working around the brand’s DNA, initially.
By giving up on the world’s largest automobile market, what are the other priority markets for you?
It is therefore Europe, but also Latin America and the Middle East. In Asia, we also have ambitions in two major markets, which are Japan and South Korea.