Following years of declining sales, Jeep has lastly discontinued the fifth-generation, KL Cherokee. The selection comes soon after Stellantis idled the Belvidere, Illinois, plant exactly where the crossover is created.

Jeep very first confirmed the news to The Drive, soon after the lineup was reduce down drastically for the 2023 model year. We reached out to Jeep and a spokesperson told Carscoops that the plant “was idled at the end of February, and production of the 2023 Cherokee ended when the plant was idled”. However, Jeep informed us that a replacement is in the performs: “We have plans for that important vehicle in that important segment. Details will be revealed in due time.”

For the final year of production, the automaker provided just two trim levels for the Cherokee —the Altitude Lux and Trailhawk—down from 4 in 2022.

Read: Jeep Cuts Cherokee Lineup Down To Two Trims And Increases Prices For 2023

The existing, fifth-generation Cherokee was introduced in 2014, producing it almost a decade old right now. Consequently, sales of the model have began to endure and, in 2022, the automaker managed to sell just 40,000 examples in America, half as numerous as it did in 2021.

Despite the flagging sales, Jeep has maintained that the Cherokee, and the segment in which it competes, are essential to it. Last summer time, the head of Jeep’s North American division, Jim Morrison, mentioned that the brand would comply with it up with a subsequent-generation model that would be “bigger and better than ever.” Another executive mentioned that the car will be electrified.

49 Years Old

Jeep very first introduced the Cherokee in 1974, and it has been an essential model to the brand ever considering that. Early on, it was marketed as the sportier, two-door trim level for the Wagoneer, but it became its personal distinct model in 1984, pioneering the unibody SUV format that now dominates the automotive market.

Although Jeep continued promoting the Cherokee outdoors of North America, it was renamed the Liberty in the U.S. in between 2002 and 2013. To a particular extent, the name was kept alive in North America for the duration of that time by the Grand Cherokee, which was and continues to be a bigger, and wholly distinct model.

In 2021, the Cherokee Nation known as on Jeep to cease employing its name for its automobiles, but the automaker has so far shown no interest in heeding that request.

Although Jeep has not officially announced a followup for the Cherokee however, a lot more info on that score is anticipated this year. Announcements could begin coming as quickly as the New York Auto Show, which runs from April 7-16, 2023.