Manoli Katakis 
JVIS-USA is an automotive industry supplier based in Michigan that builds electronic assemblies that control ventilation systems for several Stellantis vehicles. This includes the Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Chrysler 300. But, as with the entire automotive industry, the supplier can’t seem to get ahold of the semicondutor microchips it needs to adequately produce the parts it’s responsible for. As such, the launch of the all-new 2021 Grand Cherokee L three-row SUV risks a massive delay, which could ripple through to affect the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee two-row SUV launching later this year.
Per Reuters, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis denied JVIS’s request for an emergency order to force shipment of the chips, noting that if she issued an order in favor of the supplier, it could result “in a line at the courthouse” of other cases seeking emergency court orders.
The new WL Jeep Grand Cherokee replaces the WK2 generation, which debuted a full decade ago as a 2011 model. The nameplate has been considered a flagship SUV from Jeep, which tallied 55,198 sales in the US market alone in Q1 2021, an increase of 10 percent year-over-year.
The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L debuted in January, with pricing announced at the end of February. The base WL Grand Cherokee L Laredo trim will carry a base price of $36,995, plus $1,695 in destination charges. For comparison, a two-row, last-generation WK2 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo starts at $33,865. That money gets you a 2WD SUV powered by a 3.6-liter V6, which is mated to a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission. Output is rated at 290 horsepower and 257 ft-lb of torque. Capping the lineup is the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve with the optional 5.7L Hemi V8, which comes in at $65,290.
The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee two-row SUV will debut later this year, along with a 4xe hybrid variant for both bodystyles. It’s expected that the off-road oriented Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and the visceral SRT Trackhawk models will join the lineup later on.
