Jeep Kills America's Favorite Plug-In Hybrid

Another popular electric vehicle bites the dust, with Stellantis cancelling Jeep’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) lineup, starting with the 2026 model year.

The Jeep Wrangler 4xe has been the top-selling PHEV in America for the past few years, with the Grand Cherokee 4xe not far behind. Stellantis also makes the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. All are now discontinued, not paused, as The Drive first reported. The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee have been removed from the Jeep website, but the Chrysler Pacifica remains.

PCMag’s Editor in Chief has the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and is ‘pretty bummed’ by the news. (Credit: Wendy Sheehan Donnell)

“Stellantis continually evaluates its product strategy to meet evolving customer needs and regulatory requirements,” Stellantis tells us in a statement, implying a decline in EV demand. But the company has also been experiencing quality issues; it recalled all 4xe vehicles in November due to a combination of software issues and battery fire risks, Kelley Blue Book reports.

Stellantis is also facing major financial challenges, and appointed a new CEO in mid-2025. Sales have declined for seven years straight, though they had a slight uptick in the second half of 2025, Automotive News reports. Building an EV lineup isn’t cheap, with automakers facing uphill battles on battery costs and intense Chinese competition. Recent federal policy whiplash between the Biden and Trump administrations has also blown a hole in automakers’ pockets, with the end of the $7,500 federal tax credit and automotive tariffs.

4xe branding

4xe branding on the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe (Credit: Stellantis)

Stellantis plans to shift its focus to hybrid vehicles, as well as extended-range cars (EREVs). Ford has made a similar shift in the past few years, and last month killed the F-150 Lightning, vowing to relaunch it as an EREV. It didn’t mention any timelines, but estimates it will have a 700-mile range between the battery and gas tank. Other EV models that have bit the dust in the past year include the Acura ZDX and Nissan Ariya, though they were not top-sellers.

“This approach reinforces the company’s commitment to offering advanced propulsion systems that maximize efficiency and provide options from internal combustion to hybrid, range‑extended, and fully electric solutions,” Stellantis says.

In many ways, Stellantis’ move is not surprising. I’ve sensed the company has been hesitant to invest in EVs for several years, and the fact that it made the nation’s top-selling PHEVs struck me as an anomaly (though I was a fan of them). Jeep only launched its first full EV in 2024, the Wagoneer S. Its next one, the Jeep Recon, is set to debut this year, though the company paused plans for the Compass SUV in May.

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Other Stellantis-owned brands include Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler. Ram axed plans for its fully electric truck in September, Car & Driver reports, downgrading its electric ambitions to an EREV. Dodge also makes just one EV, the Charger Daytona, and Chrysler does not make any fully battery-powered vehicles.

Stellantis is also the only major car brand in the US that has not given its drivers access to Tesla Superchargers—another key indicator it hasn’t wanted to invest in its EVs.