Jeep Gladiator seen as the next Hellcat

Eric Nielsen doesn't expect the hyped Jeep Gladiator to sit on dealer lots for long when it finally arrives in the second quarter.

In fact, the New Jersey dealer and chairman of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles National Dealer Council believes the Gladiator will generate a Hellcat-like fervor for a brand that's already doing record numbers. The Wrangler, Cherokee and Compass each set annual sales records in 2018 to push the brand to its best year.

Jeep, which has gone from a niche brand to a mainstream presence, is getting closer to joining an elite tier of brands with 1 million annual sales. It could easily happen in 2019 with the addition of the Gladiator. Jeep sold 973,227 vehicles in 2018, a nearly 18 percent jump from 2017.

Nielsen says the sweet spot for the long-awaited pickup will be under $60,000. FCA is already letting prospective Gladiator buyers configure it online, but no pricing details are available yet.

Nielsen, dealer principal for Nielsen Automotive Group in Northern New Jersey, said consumers have been coming in to inquire about it. He doesn't think the Gladiator will pull sales from the Wrangler. It will find success, he says, with midsize pickup buyers "who want to have something different."

"I think the first ones will be big demand for fancy [trims], a lot of equipment," Nielsen said. "I don't sell many base-model Wranglers. A lot of hardtops, a lot of equipment, navigation, leather.

"When you are in the perceived price range of the Gladiator, I think it's going to be more of a higher-end vehicle," he added. "I think you'll be trading BMW, Mercedes and European cars for the [Gladiator]."