In 2024, the least expensive Jeep Wagoneer had a starting price of $64,945 with destination charges included. That got you a standard-length model with two-wheel drive, something nearly as silly for a Jeep as a high five-figure price tag. Move up to the range-topping Grand Wagoneer and the MSRP jumped to over $90,000. With just a few options, the big Jeep was a six-figure SUV more expensive than a Cadillac Escalade.
"Wagoneer, it's too far," Bob Broderdorf, head of Jeep for North America, said of the SUV's pricing. Speaking to us at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, he was vocal about Jeep's move upmarket and how it damaged trust with consumers and dealers alike.
"There's such a fine line on where to go," he told us. "Creating demand in the market, you want one less car than the market wants. Not 1,000 less, or 1,000 more, so there's subtlety there. And some of the strategies just went too far."
One of the strategies Broderdorf highlighted was the bundling of desirable options into expensive packages. Jeep certainly isn't the only automaker to do this, but he intends to open things up so buyers and dealers can get the equipment they want without a bunch of fluff.
"Some of the moves that we’ve done, I even call it ‘taking content hostage,’" he said. "There are some things they locked away in previous strategies that made the really cool stuff you’re looking for too hard to get. That needs to be unlocked. You will see us, very shortly, unlock more of that from a product standpoint. That's what you want? It’s there. We’re not making you get something you don’t want just to get the price higher."
To Broderoff's credit, Jeep has reversed course on pricing, at least somewhat. For 2025, the Wagoneer is now $3,000 to nearly $6,000 less depending on the trim level. The Grand Wagoneer got a $7,000 price cut, and now starts at $86,945. Further down the line, pricing on higher-spec Grand Cherokee trims fell by as much as $4,000. And Broderdorf says the price cuts come without taking any equipment away.
"The walks are aggressive, we are competitive," he said. "I’m looking to competitively position our cars and pick a fight. Jeep is iconic for a reason. The love is there, it just needs to make sense to people."
