The Jeep Grand Cherokee will be available with a 3.0 V6 in China, it will be launched on the Chinese car market on October 14. The engine has an output of 230hp and 285nm, and is mated to a 8-speed automatic gearbox. The 3.0 V6 is not available in any other county, and that includes the US.
The main reason to get the V6 in the China-bound Grand Cherokee is price. The Grand Cherokee is imported into China and comes with big engines, which is a recipe for disaster when it comes to import taxes. Price at the dealer starts at 570.000 yuan and ends at 820.000 yuan ($93.000 – $134.000). Current available engines are the 286hp 3.6 V6 and the 352hp 5.7 liter V8. The high price, and to a lesser extend the high fuel consumption, makes the Gran Cherokee a very rare sight on Chinese roads. The 3.0 V6 will bring price down to about 500.000 yuan.
The 3.0 V6 might help a sales up a bit but it would be better if Chrysler could make the Grand Cherokee locally, like they did with the second generation WJ. Production of Jeep-branded cars is set to restart in 2014 at the Guangzhou-Fiat joint venture. The will start with the Jeep Cherokee and after that with smaller thingies like a Jeep based on the Fiat 500L. Whether the Grand Cherokee will be made in China again is yet undecided.
