On the sidelines of the ongoing LA motor show, Michael Manley, Head of the Jeep Brand, has affirmed the launch of a Jeep Pick-up in 2019. “A Jeep pick-up is one of the two most requested things we have been asked for, since 2009,” Manley said. The company has scheduled the Pick-up to launch in 2019, along with the other most-requested product – the diesel Wrangler.
Our sister publication Autocar UK, in 2016, had reported about Jeep considering a pick-up version of the Wrangler SUV as part of a major sales expansion for 2018. Though there was no confirmation about which badge the Pick-up will have. Jeep boss Damien Dally had earlier told Autocar UK that the company is not expecting big sales numbers for the pick-up but will keep it more of a lifestyle product.
The new Jeep pick-up will be based on a new generation of the Wrangler. It will be a single cab version, unlike the double cab design of the Crew Chief 715 Kaiser concept that Jeep had showcased back in 2016.
The Kaiser concept had a five-foot bed built onto a four-door body. Kaiser is one of the dormant brands that Jeep parent company Fiat Chrysler (FCA) acquired along with AMC, in 1987. Kaiser was the owner of Willys – the brand that originated ‘Jeep’.
According to reports published last year by Autocar UK, the pick-up is expected to go into production in November 2018 in Toledo, Ohio.
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
Lenny D'sa
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
