In September, Jeep unveiled three new battery-electric SUVs—two mid-size SUVs, the Recon and the Wagoneer S, are to be built in North America and go on sale in 2024. A third, smaller EV, called the Avenger, was officially launched at the recent Paris Motor Show, and sources at Jeep are predicting that it could become the brand’s best-selling model.

The Jeep Avenger will technically be the brand’s first pure EV, but it will come in both gas and electric versions, which will be sold in different markets. Forbes reports that Spain and Italy will get the fossil-burning version, while the EV version will be sold elsewhere in Europe.

The Avenger will be built on Stellantis’s STLA Small platform. Production has begun at the Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, which has just completed retooling. Initial production capacity is 1,000 cars per day.

The Avenger has 156 hp, weighs 1,541 kg, and has a 54 kWh (51 kWh usable) battery pack. Jeep is predicting a range of 400 km (250 miles) on the WLTP testing cycle. Level 2 charging at 11 kW is standard, as is a heat pump to improve cold-weather range. DC charging at 100 kW is supported.

Forbes’s James Morris reports that Jeep’s ICE+EV strategy involved some compromises, including a cramped back seat with “a mound in the middle of the floor.”

The Avenger is apparently considered too small for US buyers—there are no plans to bring it to North America at present, although Head of Design Ralph Gilles has reportedly held out some hope for the future.

Jeep hasn’t announced a price yet, but Mr. Morris estimates that it will start at no less than £36,000 ($41,000) in the UK.

Source: Stellantis, Forbes