Jeep Grand Cherokee axed in Australia after 96 per cent sales slump in a decade

The Jeep Grand Cherokee has been discontinued in Australia almost 30 years after it launched, following a significant sales decline that has seen deliveries drop by 96 per cent in a decade.

The US off-road specialist says it is still committed to the Australian market, despite falling to 33rd on the sales charts last year, delivering just 2377 vehicles – down from 30,408 in 2014.

Stellantis Australia – the factory distributor of Jeep vehicles in Australia – said it has made "the difficult decision to pause availability of the current model Jeep Grand Cherokee" to "match local market dynamics and customer preferences".

"While the Jeep Grand Cherokee will continue to be sold in many countries around the world, this decision allows us to focus our efforts on placing the right products in the right segments that can have the greatest relevance for our customers," a Stellantis Australia spokesperson said.

The Japanese-market 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Final Edition.

"The Jeep brand remains fully committed to the Australian market and Stellantis continues to invest heavily in its global product portfolio."

Australia is not the only market affected, as Stellantis has announced production of the five-seat Grand Cherokee and seven-seat Grand Cherokee L – built in the US – has ended for all other right-hand-drive markets, such as Japan.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee launched in Australia in 1996, three years after the nameplate debuted in the US.

The fourth-generation 'WK2' model sold between 2011 and 2021 – available with diesel V6, petrol V6 and petrol V8 engines with a braked towing capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes – remains the most popular version locally.

2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee S-Limited V8 review

2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee S-Limited V8.

It surged in popularity, becoming Australia's best-selling large SUV in 2014 with 16,582 deliveries – for an average of around 1400 examples each month – to break the Toyota LandCruiser Prado's long-running streak.

However, Jeep sales in Australia have declined significantly in recent years, with deliveries of the Grand Cherokee down 96 per cent in 2024 compared to 2014.

Just 645 five- and seven-seat Grand Cherokees were reported as sold locally, its worst annual sales result since 2009.

VFACTS new-car sales data shows 3672 Grand Cherokees were delivered in Australia between January 2022 and December 2024, with the current, fifth-generation 'WL' Grand Cherokee range launching during this time.

This three-year sales performance is less than its 2018 full-year result when 3939 examples were delivered – and is equivalent to about two to three months of average sales for the Ford Everest and Toyota Prado.

The Grand Cherokee was Jeep's second highest-selling model in Australia last year, behind the Wrangler (724) but ahead of the Gladiator (515), Compass (493) and Avenger (79).

It follows significant price rises for the latest model, which climbed in entry price by $20,000 when the seven-seat Grand Cherokee L arrived in 2022.

The arrival of the standard-wheelbase, five-seat Grand Cherokee in 2023 saw a $17,500 difference between old and new prices.

Since then, Jeep Australia has slashed prices – cutting between $12,500 and $28,000 in May 2024 – and third-party industry price guides suggest no new Grand Cherokees have been built for Australia in at least 12 months, such is the stock backlog.

Drive has contacted Stellantis Australia to confirm when the final Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles for our market were built.

In recent days, Jeep Australia has begun marketing the mid-grade Grand Cherokee Limited for $60,000 drive-away – a saving of close to $20,000 compared to its already-reduced price.

Its stock search tool shows new and demonstrator examples of the entry-level five-seat 2023 Grand Cherokee Night Eagle are available for even less – a saving of more than $10,000 over the usual drive-away price – while discounts are also listed for other five-seat and seven-seat variants.

MoparInsiders reports the Grand Cherokee will be replaced by the Jeep Wagoneer S electric large SUV in right-hand drive markets, with a version featuring the steering wheel on the right under development following the model's launch in the United States in 2024.

The Wagoneer S is expected to arrive in Australia sometime in 2026 as the second electric vehicle in Jeep's local line-up after the Avenger city SUV.

The Wrangler-inspired Jeep Recon off-roader has also been confirmed for Australia.

The news comes after Stellantis announced "the end of production of the Grand Cherokee (right-hand drive model)" in a media release detailing a 'Final Edition' variant for the Japanese market.

Limited to 100 examples in Japan, the Grand Cherokee Final Edition includes black exterior badging, black 18-inch alloy wheels and side mirror caps, and a Final Edition badge.

It is priced from 8,100,000 yen ($AU86,500) – 200,000 yen ($AU2000) less than the entry-level five-seat Limited variant it appears to be based on.

Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.

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