Jeep Might Play Keep-Away With The Next-Gen Compass

Revealed to mostly positive reviews for a global market yesterday, the next-generation Jeep Compass might not be offered in its native market. The automaker didn’t announce any specific plans for a North American–spec small crossover, which raised some questions as to its plans for the Compass. And unfortunately for pint-size Jeep fans, it doesn’t look likely that the company’s entry-level crossover will show up in US showrooms any time soon.

Base Trim Engine

2L I4 ICE

Base Trim Transmission

8-speed automatic

Base Trim Drivetrain

Four-Wheel Drive

The Stylish Next-Generation Model Will Be Built In Italy

The current-generation Compass, which debuted for the 2017 model year, is manufactured at Toluca Car Assembly in Toluca, Mexico. But an earlier plan to retool a Canadian Stellantis facility in Brampton, Ontario, in order to produce the next-gen Compass was paused back in February. As a result, the 2026 model will be built at the facility in Melfi, Italy, that currently builds the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade (both of which are still sold globally despite being discontinued in the States after 2023). The next-gen Compass will ride on the same modular STLA Medium “multi-energy” architecture as the Lancia Gamma flagship EV, and like its Italian stablemate, the Jeep crossover will offer all-electric and plug-in hybrid powerplants, as well as a budget-oriented mild-hybrid four-cylinder.

According to Motor1, who reached out to Stellantis regarding the next-gen model’s global-only debut earlier this week, the auto giant is reevaluating its North American product plans in the wake of a changing car market – potentially as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported vehicles. In fact, Motor1 received the same boilerplate statement this week that the Detroit Free Press did back in February, when Compass-related work on the Brampton plant was put on hold. Our reporting back then suggested that Jeep would maybe withhold the new crossover for a year after it arrives in European customers’ hands by the end of 2025; given the volatile US car market, that 2026 arrival seems less likely than ever.

Cheaper Cars May Be Disproportionately Affected By Tariffs

Part of the reason behind the Compass’ US-market delay – if not an outright cancellation – could be tariffs on vehicles imported from outside the US. Given inexpensive cars tend to be both less profitable for the manufacturer and more susceptible to price increases, Jeep has a big problem facing today’s Mexico-built, $26,900 Compass.

If the tariffs result in a price increase, it could become nearly as expensive as the domestically built Wrangler, or Stellantis could take a hit for a product that’s already contributing less profit per unit to the bottom line than the far more expensive Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, and Wagoneer. That could be why Jeep is reconsidering offering the Compass in the US, weighing the sacrifice in overall sales against the potential profit loss on an imported crossover.

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The same problem is facing other automakers, too. Buick, for example, imports its three most popular vehicles – the Envista, Encore GX, and Envision – from South Korea, and tariffs could kill GM’s profitability on its cheap-and-cheerful crossovers. And given the higher labor costs in the US versus other countries, on-shoring the production of inexpensive, entry-level cars could pose similar profitability and price increase concerns as paying tariffs on imports would.

Source: Motor1