While waiting for my keys at the Enterprise rental counter during a recent trip, I couldn’t help but casually glance at at printout sitting just a few feet away. It was a somewhat casually prepared brochure listing all of the company’s local rental options by category—compact, midsize, etc.—the same as they appear online. Having nothing better to do, I slid it over for a browse. Something quickly caught my eye: it had two categories for 4x4s, one for two-door and one for four-door models. I found that precision a bit odd. When the clerk came back a few moments later, I asked what they typically had available in those categories.
“Oh,” he said, chuckling, “they’re both just Wranglers. We’ve been getting a lot.”
I filed it away. The plural of anecdote is not data, after all. But it also had the whiff of truth about it. It may seem like only yesterday that we were seeing story after story about how the Wrangler had become so mainstream that it was threatening the sales dominance of the Toyota Camry, but Jeep left that high water mark behind years ago. Its once-healthy lead over its chief rival, the Ford Bronco, is in jeopardy for the first time since the latter was resurrected just a few years ago.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. According to Reuters, that little tidbit I learned on vacation was not only accurate, but applicable beyond just Jeep and the Wrangler. A source told the wire service that CEO Antonio Filosa gave the company’s American brands the green light to reclaim lost market share by any means necessary—including more fleet sales.
So, no, you’re not crazy: that conspicuously large population of Jeep Wranglers (or Chrysler Pacificas, or Jeep Compasses, or Dodge Durangos) you’ve spotted in close proximity to your frequent travel destination was not just a figment of your imagination. They’re really out there.
As Reuters pointed out, there are advantages to fleet sales. While they may result in less profit per unit sold, they present an opportunity for positive exposure to the public without a corresponding advertising budget. Having recently queued up to enter Universal Studios Florida, I can say only one thing: I’ve never seen so many white Chrysler minivans (mostly Voyagers, but some Pacificas) in one place. If it’s a numbers game, then Stellantis is playing it correctly.
Will it be enough to keep the Wrangler ahead of the Bronco at the end of the month? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Got a news tip? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com!