Stellantis NV (BIT:STLA) is betting hard on vehicle electrification. The company has presented the Jeep Wrangler Magneto 2.0, a Rubicon-inspired, electric SUV that marks the direction the company is going in terms of future products and electric vehicle (EV) offers.
“An Electric Switch”
As reported by CNBC, the Jeep brand is pivoting to a more-electric future by revamping a previous EV concept from last year. The upgrade on the Magneto 1.0, the 2.0 version, offers a huge leap in performance with 850 foot-pounds of torque and 625 horsepower.
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The inclusion of a new electric powertrain calibration, based on electronic nitrous oxide, allows the SUV to do 0-60 mph in a fleeting two seconds —compared to the 1.0’s 6.8 seconds.
The Magneto 2.0’s debut took place online Friday, before the Jeep Easter Safari —an off-road event the brand holds every year to test its vehicles’ performance and size people’s interest in the company and upcoming products.
The range of the vehicle is yet unknown, and the car itself remains a concept that is not ready for release to final customers.
Outlook
Stellantis is set to invest over $35 billion in vehicle electrification through 2025, and the Jeep brand is an essential part in this strategy. The company is the result of a merger of Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA —the French manufacturer of the Peugeot brand.
Christian Meunier, the Jeep CEO, has voiced the brand’s intentions to embed any form of electrification technology in every new model in the upcoming years.
In the meantime, Reuters reports, Stellantis is also bearing the brunt of the chip crisis as its plant in Italy is set to see production fall for a fifth consecutive year. The FIM CISL union said production in the country dropped by 13.5% year-on-year in Q1 due to the issue.
Car production fell 2.6% to 123,484 units, while van production fell 30.4% to 56,690, the union added.
FIM CISL Head Ferdinando Uliano said, “The war in Ukraine is having an impact on supplies, there was hope that 2022 could mark an improvement on semiconductors and raw material supplies, but we now doubt this can happen.”
