• Jeep plans to introduce a Gladiator 4xe (plug-in hybrid), but not before 2025.
The 2024 Jeep Gladiator was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show yesterday. The pickup benefits from a mid-cycle upgrade, and for the occasion, new variants and features were announced.
There was one absence of note among the variants mentioned. Indeed, where is the plug-in hybrid version of the model, the 4xe? The Gladiator's cousin, the Wrangler, has been available in 4xe version since 2021. We might have expected news on that front in relation to the revised Gladiator, but no.
Jeep brand boss Jim Morrison addressed the question at the 2024 Gladiator media preview. “All I can say is stay tuned. By 2025 we’ve said we’ll electrify the entire range, so by deduction you know that’s coming,” he said.
Jeep has every reason to pony up a Gladiator 4xe. In North America, the best-selling plug-in hybrid SUV is… the Jeep Wrangler 4xe. It’s followed by the plug-in version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. At around 43 km, the range on electric power isn’t extraordinary, but clearly Jeep fans are joining the cause in numbers.
And why not? Anything that can help reduce the high fuel consumption of these models is welcome.
We can expect an announcement relatively soon concerning a Gladiator 4xe, possibly for the 2025 model-year. Jeep has already said the Gladiator will be electrified in one form or another; it has also indicated the Wagoneer in 4xe configuration will become reality.
Jeep aims to have 50 percent of its sales generated by electrified models by 2030 in North America. Among the all-electric models expected is the Recon, intended as a spiritual cousin to the Wrangler. An all-electric version of the Wagoneer is also in the pipeline. Other models will be announced at a later date.