The Jeep Cherokee Just Came Back and It’s Already About to Be Replaced

It took too long for Jeep to bring back the Cherokee SUV that left a compact-sized hole in the lineup that hurt overall sales. But Stellantis is proving quick off the draw to redo the Cherokee, with plans to introduce a new version, on a new platform, to be built in a new plant, in a few years.

The next-generation Cherokee will switch from the current STLA Large platform to the new STLA One architecture designed to reduce complexity and cut costs by 30 percent. The platform is flexible enough to support internal combustion engines, hybrids, and pure EVs. STLA One supports 800-volt electrical architectures for quicker charging times. The platform also integrates the automaker’s STLA Brain electronics and software architecture and the STLA SmartCockpit infotainment system.

The quick turnaround is possible because STLA One was designed to shorten the time needed to get a new vehicle to market.

The current Cherokee will live for just three years.

Made in the U.S.A.

The Cherokee returns to its old home, the Belvidere Assembly plant in Illinois where it was built until 2023, at which point the plant was shut down. Stellantis is spending $800 million to prepare the plant to fire up again, and the work to bring it back to life has already begun.

Pilot production will start in 2028, with salable models running off the line in the second half of 2029. There are no details yet on changes to the look or powertrain of the future model.

Jeep revived the Cherokee in 2026 after a two-year hiatus that left Jeep dealers without an offering in the largest, most popular segment, a vacancy that hurt overall Jeep sales. The Cherokee finally returned for the 2026 model year, as a hybrid.

2026 Jeep Compass for Europe.

Future Jeep Compass in Same Plant

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has said the Belvidere plant will also build the subcompact Jeep Compass in the future, without giving specific timing. The Compass was assembled in Belvidere until 2016 when it was moved to the Toluca plant in Mexico, with plans to eventually move production to the Brampton plant in Canada. Both locations are currently politically fraught today, with trade and tariff issues cutting into their bottom lines. Next-generation Compasses for the U.S. will instead be built in the U.S.