Jeep is readying its plant in Melfi, Italy to build the first plug-in hybrid Renegade compact SUV, due for launch in 2020 as part of ongoing plans to phase out diesel in its range.

Jeep will add a plug-in hybrid Renegade to the range in 2020.

Pre-production cars will be due early next year, on the same line as petrol and diesel versions of the Renegade and 500X. It follows a €200m investment in the plant, in re-training staff and modernising the facility itself.

Jeep has not confirmed details of the drivetrain, but it will be equipping the Renegade, Compass and Cherokee with plug-in hybrid technology by 2022, and phasing out diesel from 2020 in line with Fiat Chrysler’s plans to drop the fuel by 2021. An ‘Urban UV’ city-sized SUV, developed for Europe, is also due in 2020, beneath the Renegade.

Earlier this year, head of Jeep for EMEA, Jeff Hines told Fleet World: “From 2020 on, as compliance gets more stringent across Europe, that’s when electrification becomes core to what we do. Without commenting on exact timing [for phasing out diesel], from that point on we’ll have to make adjustments to our current powertrain line-up with regards to electrification.”