It's official: Amp bringing all-electric Jeep Grand Cherokee to Detroit

Surprised at the headline? Neither are we. But still, here's the official word from Amp Electric Vehicles: all-electric conversions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee are coming. Amp will start taking orders for both two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions of the battery-powered Grand Cherokee at the Detroit Auto Show in early January.

The roots for the reason that Amp has decicded to convert the Grand Cherokee go back to the DaimlerChrysler days, when the two big auto companies decided to build SUVs – including the M-Class and the Grand Cherokee – on the same platform. Since Amp has already done the work to convert the ML SUV, it "didn't have to change a bolt" to fit the electric powertrain into the Jeep. The only thing that's different, Amp president Steve Burns told AutoblogGreen, is how the powertrain software communicates with the vehicle. Performance, therefore, is also similar, so expect around 100 miles of range on a full charge of the 37.6-kWh li-ion phosphate battery. Burns said the ML is a little slipperier and better on the highway, while the Grand Cherokee is wider and performs better in the city. For more on the technical details of the ML, read this.

When the Amp Jeep Grand Cherokee comes to market early next year, Burns said, it will compete (in a sense) with the Tesla Model S and Model X. Sure, it's hard to compare a Model S to a Jeep, but when you're the only two companies selling all-electric luxury SUVs, you "compete" with whoever's around. The electric Jeep will also compete with the Model S on price. While Burns won't announce specific numbers just yet (firm pricing information, delivery dates and names of the first dealerships will be coming in January), he did say that the electric Grand Cherokee will compete with the lowest-priced Model S. So, figure a price of under $60,000 before a potential $7,500 federal tax credit. Burns said this should be a good sticker price. "The luxury market has proven to be receptive to the higher prices that EVs command," he said. "Jeep is considered a luxury SUV but not as high as a Mercedes. Now, we've got two different price points [to sell]."

Burns and his team are still proud to be converting vehicles, rather than trying to make something brand new. "As we see some of our peers fall by the way side, which is discouraging, most of them tried to build cars from scratch," he said. With the Jeep, "we were able to get to a quality vehicle and a well-liked vehicle and a top-selling vehicle" and offer an electric version wihtout taking billions in government money. Burns said this is something the team is "really happy about."

If you'd like to get your hands on one of these electrics, pay Amp a visit during the Detroit show by heading downstairs to the ride and drive. If you can't make it to the Motor City, Amp's website will be revamped by the time the show starts and it will take online and telephone orders. In early 2012, at least five cities in the U.S. will have Amp vehicles for sale at already-existing dealerships. For a company that has made a business out of using infrastructure and products that are already out there, this simply makes sense.



Source: Autoblog Green