The Jeep Cherokee leaves Australia after 3 decades.
Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis, quietly phased out manufacturing of the existing generation right Cherokee, completing 28 uninterrupted years of sales in Australia.
“Production of the Jeep Cherokee for primary markets outside of North America, adding right-hand drive models, ends with a preference to focus marketing and sales resources on key volume models,” the company said in a statement.
“The Jeep Cherokee continues to be manufactured for Canada, the United States and South Korea, where a North American specification edition is sold. “
While the Jeep Cherokee was sold here for a few years in the early 1980s, it wasn’t until the iconic XJ Cherokee was unveiled (below) in 1994 that the logo discovered its position in Australia, paving the way for the Wrangler in 1996.
MORE: Jeep to launch 3 new cars in Australia
News of the Cherokee’s demise marks a generational shift for Jeep, with the logo set to unveil a whole new series of models in the coming years, many of which are destined for Australia.
A new electric Cherokee is recommended to be unveiled in 2023, with a right-hand drive edition on sale here in the future.
The five-seater Jeep Grand Cherokee will also launch here in 2023, while the smaller Recon and larger Wagoneer S were shown for Australia via the company’s global boss last month, with the latter two cars purely electric.
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Journalist
Ben Zachariah is an experienced journalist and automaker from Melbourne who has worked in the automotive industry for over 15 years. In the past, Ben was an interstate truck driving force and finished his MBA in Finance in early 2021. He is considered an expert in the investment box in old cars.