Jeep Pickup Won't Be Here Until Late 2019
CARS.COM — Jeep’s long-rumored mid-size pickup truck based on the next-generation Jeep Wrangler is reportedly now slated for a late 2019 debut, just in time to bring it to market against the new Ford Ranger.
Related: Ultimate Jeep Head-to-Head: Wrangler Rubicon Versus Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
According to The Detroit News, Jeep brand boss Mike Manley has confirmed that production of the new truck will begin at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, in late 2019, or nearly two years after the debut of the next-generation Jeep Wrangler that’s planned for the end of 2017.
Manley reportedly stated that no name has yet been chosen for the pickup truck, but that he and FCA chief Sergio Marchionne are considering some historical names from the Jeep brand’s past — that would suggest names like Comanche, Gladiator and Willys. Our money’s on Gladiator since Willys Wheeler is already a trim package on the Wrangler itself and Comanche comes with political correctness issues.
The last time Jeep offered an off-road pickup was the Cherokee-based Comanche, built from 1985-92, but several companies, such as AEV, have offered aftermarket conversions to create one out of a Wrangler Unlimited (for a hefty fee). FCA’s Mopar division has even offered a conversion kit, the JK-8, for the do-it-yourselfer who wants to bolt a pickup bed and top to retool a Wrangler Unlimited.
The new Jeep Wrangler pickup is expected to cost a little more than competing trucks, but given the premium Jeep gets away with for its current Wrangler, this isn’t likely to impede sales.
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