Jeep is planning to expand its lineup later this year with a pair of seven-seat SUV models, one the upscale Grand Wagoneer that's been on Jeep's mind for some time now and another will be positioned as a seven-seat alternative to the Grand Cherokee.
The future product update comes straight from Jeep boss Mike Manley, who spoke to the UK's Auto Express. Manley says the Grand Wagoneer will compete in the large SUV segment, which suggests to us Jeep has full-size trucks like Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator in its sights.
Manley says the second seven-seater "will technically play in the same segment as (the) Grand Cherokee." It's a move he predicts will open new doors for Jeep, as more than half the models in the mid-size SUV class have three rows of seating.
Manley also confirmed what we reported in the summer of 2016: the new mid-size, seven-seater will not share the Grand Cherokee name, as Jeep wants to preserve that truck's status as "an icon." The mid-sizer could be called Wagoneer in order to differentiate it from both the Grand Cherokee and the larger and posher Grand Wagoneer.
Jeep has thus far only dabbled with the three-row SUV market with the short-lived Commander (pictured above). Getting back into the game wouldn't be a stretch: Jeep's corporate cousins at Dodge already make a mid-size, three-model in the Durango, which shares underpinnings with the Grand Cherokee.
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