Jeep may not be the first brand that comes to mind when it comes to 100% electric vehicles. Nevertheless, the American manufacturer, specializing in 4x4s and SUVs, versatile vehicles designed to satisfy the adventurous ambitions of their owners due to their off-road capabilities, is committed to investing in technology that it already offers in the Avenger and the Compass.
However, it was back in 1975 that the first 100% electric model from the brand, which has been registered for 82 years, emerged, and which will celebrate, in 2025, the 80th anniversary of the first car presented in its own name: the DJ5-E Electruck. At the time, it was born as a response to the oil crisis and constituted an alternative for the transportation and distribution of goods. It was used, for example, by the postal services of the USA and Canada.
The development of the program took only one year, and the brand based it on the Dispatcher. The DJ5-E Electruck had lead batteries that powered a 30 hp motor. The maximum speed was only 53 km/h, and it took over 20 seconds to reach it. The range was less than 50 km, and the battery was quite heavy – representing 600 kg of the approximately 1600 kg that the entire unit weighed on the scale.
The DJ5-E Electruck was used until the mid-1980s, but Jeep ultimately “retired” it early due to the very short life cycle of the battery. The pack showed the first signs of degradation after about 300 charge cycles. Thus, the approximately 350 units used by the postal service in the USA, plus the five that operated in Canada, were never viable alternatives to equivalent vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines.
