Jeep launches new marketing campaign for Avenger

Jeep Avenger is preparing for first deliveries and since this is Jeep’s first all-electric car, the company is really taking the marketing of the SUV seriously. Stellantis announced the Jeep is starting a TV marketing campaign called “Built for the Real World” and it will first air in Spain today, in a few days it’ll go on Italian TV and eventually will be rolled out across Europe as the Avenger makes its way to all the markets. Here’s the ad:

In the accompanying press release, Stellantis (who owns Jeep among many other brands) goes to extensive lengths to put as much meaning as possible into the short video. The advert apparently underlines the transition from the virtual to the real world and manages to highlight Jeep’s values - freedom and adventure. Right. All that in 30 seconds of flashing images.

Marketing campaign apart - the Jeep Avenger itself is quite an interesting car. At just 4.01 meters in length, it is 27cm shorter than the Smart #1 which already is compact. In fact, it is 15cm shorter than the Opel Mokka Electric with which it shares a long list of components.

Admittedly, the Avenger is a good-looking EV and it already has won a European Car of The Year 2023 award. And the fact that it shares its components with the Mokka is not a bad thing, you could say the Avenger is a better version of the Mokka. The 156hp electric motor pushes only front wheels and it should be powerful enough for zipping around the town.

The 54kWh battery has a 400km WLTP range and is the same 400V lithium-ion liquid-cooled unit we know from Peugeot and Opel. It supports up to 100kW DC charging which returns a decent 24-minute top-up time from 20 to 80% SoC. That means about 30 minutes from 10% looking at its siblings’ specification sheets.

For now, the electric Avenger is only FWD, although the company claims the car is as capable as any Jeep off the beaten track, we wouldn’t venture too far out. The rugged looks may be a tad misleading, the only jungle Avenger will truly enjoy will be the street jungle of inner cities.

There’s a catch, or rather a glitch to the whole story here though - and it’s the price of the Avenger. On one hand, Jeep calls the Avenger’s campaign “Built for the Real World” and on the other, it comes up with a price from a distant galaxy. Seriously - Avenger goes on sale in Spain first and in the Summit trim it is priced at an eye-watering €41,838. The gas-powered Avenger in the same trim costs €27,924 - that’s €13,914 less. Ouch.

Jeep demands nearly a €14,000 premium for a 4-meter EV that is comfortably superior to the Dacia Spring, but not much else. This feels like a sabotage, you’d have to drive the gas-powered version for 15 years to spend the €41,000 Jeep wants for the electric version. The cost parity will take closer to 20 years - Jeep, and Stellantis, seriously are trying to undermine the whole EV idea here. How is that “Built for the Real World?”

For reference if you have €40,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you can go for Tesla Model 3. For €2,000 less you are getting 110km more (WLTP) range, 130hp more for swift traffic lights launches, 70cm more of a car with a decent trunk for all the shopping you can carry, and enough room for family. Jeep - you might want to reconsider, because no matter how good-looking the Avenger is - it’s not going to do great with that price tag.

Source