Arguably the first modern SUV, the Jeep Cherokee has been canceled after 49 years. We’re getting the notice a little late. A Jeep spokesperson confirms to Carscoops the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that built the Cherokee “was idled at the end of February, and production of the 2023 Cherokee ended when the plant was idled.”
A Historically Important Nameplate
Car lovers and automotive historians like to argue, so you’ll never get them to agree on the precise moment the modern SUV was born. But Jeep makes a pretty convincing argument for the early Cherokee vehicles starting the craze. The 1974 first-generation Cherokee used the phrase “sports utility vehicle” in a marketing brochure — possibly its first use by an automaker.
But the first version was a classic, body-on-frame model like a pickup truck. Its 1984 successor was the watershed moment for Jeep. As the first mainstream SUV built with lightweight unibody construction, it set the design ethos Jeep SUVs still use today.
By 1992, Jeep would spin off the larger Grand Cherokee. For decades, that became the brand’s flagship — a bigger seller and better-known. But it owes its existence to the little Cherokee.
The Grand Cherokee, we should be clear, is not going anywhere. Jeep has only announced the cancelation of the compact Cherokee.
Faded in Recent Years
More recently, the Cherokee has faded in significance. The iconic Wrangler, sales-leading Grand Cherokee, Gladiator pickup, and even the subcompact Compass outsell it many months.
Today’s Cherokee is lauded for being among the best off-road architectures of any current compact SUV, but few Americans take their compact SUVs far off-road. The everyday-livable crossover architecture the Cherokee once pioneered has turned the compact SUV into a great commuter platform and a grocery-run master with all-weather capability. The Cherokee, once a pioneer, now lives in a crowded space with many lookalikes.
Jeep has never been a company that set out to build an indistinguishable vehicle. So the company will go back to the drawing board with plans to return to the compact SUV space with something more identifiable.
“We have plans for that important vehicle in that important segment, which we will reveal in due time,” a spokesman says.
Many Still on Dealer Lots
In the meantime, dealers still have some Cherokee vehicles on lots.
At the end of February, our data shows, dealers had 101 days’ worth of Cherokee models in inventory. An old industry rule of thumb tells them to aim for 60 days’ worth. New car prices are on the way down, and the average Cherokee sold for slightly below the sticker price last month — before anyone knew the model’s run would end soon.
Dealers are often willing to accept less for canceled models because manufacturers stop advertising them, and dealers want to make room in the showroom for something shoppers have seen on TV recently.
If you’re in the compact SUV market, this might be a great time to make a slightly low offer on an in-stock Cherokee to get a reasonably good deal at a time when those are just beginning to come back.
