September 24, 2025 - Shifting Electrification Strategies

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for September 23, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.  

With the auto industry in a continuing state of flux as policies, regulations, and economic conditions keep shifting, manufacturers are juggling their product plans. With the slowing adoption of battery electric vehicles in the U.S. and fundamental antagonism from the Trump administration, automakers have been focusing more on hybridization. But even hybrid strategies are shifting, including at Stellantis and Ford. 

Just a few weeks ago, Jeep announced the new 2026 Cherokee SUV that will launch exclusively with a new hybrid drivetrain later this fall. However, Jeep has also been planning to add its 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain to the midsize Gladiator pickup truck. The Gladiator 4xe was announced several years ago, and prototypes have been spotted testing in Colorado as recently as July. Now it appears that Jeep has cancelled this product. The other two vehicles with this powertrain, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, have benefited greatly from the $7,500 federal tax credit to offset their significant cost premium. With that incentive ending in a few days, the already premium-priced Gladiator would have a hard time competing against other midsize trucks, and Jeep was also probably having a hard time achieving at least 20 miles of electric range. 

At Ford, a Mustang hybrid is reportedly back in the development pipeline. Ford had been developing a hybrid variant of the previous generation Mustang coupe, combining a V8 engine with electrification. That project was cancelled several years ago when Ford opted to badge its electric crossover as the Mustang Mach-E and focused on EVs. With sales of the Mach-E not meeting expectations and sales of the current generation Mustang declining, the hybrid is back, although it's not clear which powertrain will be used. Since the current S650 Mustang is based on the same architecture as the prior generation, it should be fairly straightforward to complete development and validation and bring the hybrid to market relatively quickly, possibly in 2026. 

Thanks for listening.