Companies from all over the automotive spectrum are scrambling to launch high-riding models as fast as possible to satisfy the market’s insatiable appetite for crossovers and SUVs. Jeep doesn’t need to make urgent product planning decisions to surf the wave, because it’s been building off-roaders since its inception.
What is it?
More of a crossover than a true SUV, the Yuntu takes the form of a seven-seater people-mover with a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain. Full technical specifications haven’t been announced yet. Aesthetically, it moves Jeep’s design language forward by adopting sharp styling cues like dark chrome accents and razor-thin lights on both ends of the traditional seven-slot grille.
Why does it matter?
With the Yuntu, Jeep has the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. If launched, it will become Jeep’s only seven-seater model, and the company’s only hybrid. Being a Jeep, it will be more capable off the beaten path than its main competitors.
Jeep Yuntu
When will Canada get it?
Jeep hasn’t officially commented on what the future holds for the Yuntu concept. Industry rumors indicate a production model based on the design study is only about a year away, which isn’t hard to believe. The sheet metal looks nearly ready to roll off an assembly line.
There’s a catch: the Yuntu will be manufactured in China, and it will only be sold on the local market. However, we hear it will lend its underpinnings to a Chrysler-badged hybrid seven-seater that will be built alongside the Cherokee in Belvidere, Illinois, in the next year or two.
Should you buy it?
The Yuntu is a good option if you live in China and have the ability to travel to the future at the snap of a finger. The rest of us will settle for looking at it from across the Pacific.
Jeep isn’t giving up North American buyers who need seven seats to the competition. The company will resurrect the emblematic Grand Wagoneer nameplate and affix it to a brand-new, body-on-frame SUV with room for seven before the end of the decade.
Jeep Yuntu
