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Jeep is priming the next-generation Cherokee for launch next year, with the new-look SUV set to offer the choice of petrol or electric power.

It's set to be a close relation of the flagship Jeep Wagoneer S EV, making the switch onto parent company Stellantis’s STLA Large platform.

Indeed, the new Cherokee shares several design cues with the Wagoneer S, including a sloping roofline, squared-off haunches, rear doors set into the wheel arches and door handles recessed into the body.

Up front, however, the Cherokee is expected to feature a more prominent variant of Jeep’s seven-slot grille than that on the Wagoneer S, mirroring that on the new Compass.

The rear end too appears to draw on the Compass but forgoes the light bar that spans the rear end of that car in favour of a more traditional look.

The appearance of a tailpipe suggests that the new Cherokee prototype packs an internal combustion engine, rather than a battery-electric powertrain.

It's possible that this is the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre ‘Hurricane’ straight six from the petrol-powered Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, offered with outputs of 420bhp and 510bhp.

An electric Cherokee is set to follow after the launch of the petrol model, likely borrowing the 600bhp dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrain from the Wagoneer S.

This is paired with a 118kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery in that car, giving it a range of 303 miles (according to the US’s EPA test, which is less lenient than the WLTP regimen used in Europe). 

Inside, the new Cherokee has a large infotainment touchscreen similar to the 12.3in unit featured in the Wagoneer S, with rotary control dials on its sides.

The climate functions, meanwhile, are controlled using a touchbar recessed into the dashboard, just below the main screen.

The new Cherokee will slot into Jeep’s range between the new Compass and the Wagoneer S.

The Grand Cherokee will be pulled from sale in Europe in the coming months to make room for the Wagoneer S.

A similar decision may be made for the Wrangler when the upcoming Recon EV lands in Europe next year.

Ferrari will reveal the first details of its long-awaited debut electric car on 9 October, ahead of a full unveiling next spring.

CEO Benedetto Vigna, speaking during the company's first quarter results, confirmed that the EV's "technological heart" will be detailed at its Capital Markets Day as part of a three-step unveiling.

This would suggest the first announcement will showcase the car's underpinning – most importantly its powertrain.

Ferrari will then unveil the "look and feel of the interior" in early next year, followed by the complete unveiling in the spring, said Vigna.

Deliveries are still expected to begin at the end of 2026.

When the first details are released, it will be a year since Ferrari revealed its new F80 halo hypercar, deliveries of which are due to begin this autumn, so it promises to be a particularly busy period in Maranello.

Ferrari also recently unveiled the new 296 Speciale.

What's more, the Italian firm is expected to reveal follow-ups to the Roma and SF90 Stradale this year, given that both have been seen testing. 

Overall, Vigna said Ferrari will roll out six new cars in 2025.

Ferrari's first EV will be "a lot of fun"

Vigna recently told Autocar that Ferrari’s first electric car has already completed several thousand miles of on-road testing and promised it will be made “in the right way” to ensure buyers can “have a lot of fun”.

The Italian firm has yet to give any details about what form its first battery-electric vehicle will take, but recent spy shots show what are understood to be test mules using modified Maserati Levante bodywork. Whether it will be obviously comparable with the Levante in silhouette remains to be seen.

Notably, though, Ferrari used Maserati’s SUV as the basis for the first Purosangue prototypes and that car is radically different from its Italian contemporary – while still sitting high off the ground and having rear seats.

It is possible Ferrari could seek to emulate the characteristic dynamic qualities of its combustion cars by centralising the mass of the batteries in the chassis – much in the way that its current cars are either front-mid-engined or rear-mid-engined. Vigna said he expects the new EV to appeal to both existing Ferrari customers and tech-savvy newcomers to the brand.

He added: “There is not a pattern really. People buy a Ferrari because when they buy a Ferrari, they have a lot of fun. They don’t buy a Ferrari because A, B, C, D or a single element. It’s a combination of things. When we do electric cars, we will produce them in the right way.

“Consider that we have prototypes already on the road that have done several thousand kilometres, and we have in our company very qualified clients: test drivers. The first clients of our cars are the test drivers. They drive a lot of cars, and they can easily make a comparison between one and another, so for us this is an important metric that we are making a reference to.”

Reports from Reuters have suggested that the new EV will be priced from $500,000 (£395,000) and claimed that a second electric model is already under development. Vigna called those reports “a surprise” and declined to confirm any of those details. He added: “The way we define the price of a car is one month before we launch it.”

The Ferrari EV will be produced in the firm’s new E-building, which has recently been opened on its Maranello campus.

The facility contains an advanced new production line, which is likely to start operations with the Purosangue and SF90 before the EV joins in 2026.

The new production line will not replace either of Ferrari’s two existing lines, but the firm refused to be drawn on whether it will increase capacity.

Vigna said Ferrari will offer internal combustion, hybrid and electric models in the future but insisted that the sales split between those models will not be set by sales or production targets but by customer demand. “We always refer to what is our offer, not ‘what are the sales?’” said Vigna.

“Forecasting the sales by the kind of propulsion is an act of arrogance, a lack of respect to the client. We will never talk about sales splits.

“How can we understand what the client wants? We’re not talking about computers selecting a car. We’re talking about human beings with emotion.”

The E-building will help Ferrari reduce development times and increase the level of personalisation that it can offer, which is key to the company’s goal of increasing “revenue quality over quantity”.

It will also eventually house production of all of Ferrari’s powertrains, including high-voltage batteries, electric motors and axles that will be used for its future electric models.

Bringing production of those key electric components in-house is vital to the firm’s ambitions to ensure that its electric models have points of difference from rivals and that it can continue to service all its models in the future. Ferrari will buy its battery cells from a number of unspecified providers.

Vigna declined to give any information about which firms it will use but did drop a hint about battery technology. He said: “You hear people in the market going for LFP [lithiumiron-phosphate] batteries. Well, LFP batteries are not for Ferrari. It’s not good for us.”