Jeep Unveils Fully Electric Wrangler SUV

Ahead of the annual Easter Jeep Safari event, Jeep unveiled a handful of concepts on Monday, and the headliner was an all-electric Wrangler.

The brand on Monday debuted the Wrangler “Magneto” as a concept vehicle, meaning it’s a custom product typically built by automakers to gauge customer interest or show the future direction of a vehicle or brand.

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The Wrangler Magneto comes on the heels of the launch of the Wrangler 4XE plug-in hybrid, the first Jeep that can use energy from the grid. Unlike the 4XE, the Magneto carries no internal combustion engine at all and it is built on the short-wheelbase two-door Wrangler. It uses four of the lithium-ion battery packs from the 4XE, with two mounted under the body, one in the rear storage compartment, and the fourth under the hood and over the electric motor. 

The Magneto was created to test the possibilities of an all-electric Wrangler, and it was built as a retro-fit Wrangler Rubicon. The gasoline powertrain was ripped out and replaced with a custom-built axial flux electric motor tuned to produce the same 285 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque as the Wrangler's standard 3.6-liter V-6.

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“It’s a sustainable, stealthy, rock-climbing force,” Jim Morrison, vice president of the Jeep brand in North America, said during a media event. “It’s a zero-emissions concept vehicle with Jeep 4x4 capability taken to the next level.”

Jeep executives have said every Jeep will offer some form of electrification going forward, but it has not confirmed an all-electric version of the Wrangler. The company recently started selling a plug-in hybrid electric version of the Wrangler under a new “4xe” moniker, a play on the brand’s off-road reputation combined with electrification. Plug-in hybrid electric models have batteries like EVs but also still have a traditional internal combustion engine.

The Magneto was unveiled alongside several other custom or concept vehicles for the Jeep Easter Safari, an annual off-road event for the brand in Moab, Utah. Jeep regularly uses the off-road event as a testing ground for the capabilities of its vehicles as well as a way to gauge customer interest in new products.

The Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah is by far the biggest Jeep event of the year. Each year, the manufacturer brings a range of concept Jeeps that preview upcoming vehicles, pay tribute to Jeep heritage, and show off Jeep's impressive array of OEM accessories and add-ons.