In January of 2021, Stellantis was formed to merge a conglomerate of automotive companies in need of rebranding for the future. Some of the brands that are now under the Stellantis cooperation are Jeep, Fiat, Dodge, and Maserati. Each brand is an individual entity under the helm of Stellantis with its own presiding CEO. As the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares issued a challenge to all of the automotive brands vying for financial support from Stellantis. The challenge is to improve brand capabilities that will embrace new technologies.

On July 8, 2021, Carlos Tavares hosted a live digital event called Stellantis EV Day 2021, during which the company’s strategy to enable an electric based automotive platform was outlined. With a €30billion investment, Stellantis aims to have 39 electric vehicles from the cooperation’s iconic brands on the road by the end of 2021. One of the highlighted brands during EV Day was Jeep and its vision for the future.

Jeep has already begun to install solar electric charging stations around the United States. These charging stations are to support Jeep’s Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid. During the presentation, a video begins with a couple whom each had a present day Wrangler 4xe. The video jumps ahead to 2025, and the couple now drives Jeep’s upcoming Wrangler Freedom. The presentation goes on to tease all the futuristic features available with the Wrangler Freedom.

Besides being an environmentally friendly electric vehicle, the Wrangler Freedom comes with all new bells and whistles. These features include peer-to-peer charging, biometric facial recognition to unlock and start the car, and of course, one of the most popular technologies being paired with automobiles now, a drone. As part of their line of Jeep Gear, Jeep already has a custom drone available to customers. Called the Jeep Selfie Drone, this drone is a mini, pocket-sized drone that retails at around $120. At only 3.25″ long and 2.06″ wide, the selfie drone is easily controlled through a smartphone app. It can do flips and tricks and take 720p HD photos and videos. It also relays real time video.

But for the 2025 Jeep Wrangler Freedom, the company plans to take drones and cars to the next level with fully integrated pairing. Follow me drones are not a new concept. Drones can be easily programmed to follow a moving target. The difference that Jeep is making is that they plan on building the Wrangler Freedom with the drone rather than having it added on separately. The drone will be paired directly to the vehicle and operated through dashboard controls.

Though these new features won’t be available until 2025, Jeep is clearly welcoming the challenge put forth by Stellantis. Their new lineup of vehicles still honors the brand’s iconic rugged image while embracing Stellantis’ zero emission goals. A follow me drone will do nothing to enforce a smaller carbon footprint from a vehicle, it is certainly a fun feature to include nonetheless.

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