The Jeep Wrangler Is Still The King Of 4x4s, But The Battle Is Just Heating Up

The Jeep Wrangler rolled through the first three months of 2025 as the best-selling hardcore off-road SUV.

Jeep delivered 37,961 of the Toledo, Ohio-built Wranglers through March, which was a drop of 1% compared to the same period last year, but enough to stay on top.

Its closest and most direct competitor was the Ford Bronco, which accounted for 32,595 deliveries, a 35% bump from 2024 after Ford cranked up production at the Michigan factory that builds it. That puts the Bronco well ahead of last year’s pace, when 109,172 were delivered compared to 151,163 Wranglers.

General Motors abandoned this segment many years ago and, while neither has a removable roof like the Wrangler and Bronco, let alone a two-door option, the Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser are the only other vehicles close to this mainstream truck segment.

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Supplies of the new 4Runner are still ramping up and just 8,435 were delivered in the first quarter, when the larger Land Cruiser accounted for 15,416.

The road just got rougher for both of them, however, as they are built in Japan and now subject to a 25% tariff on exports to the U.S. Toyota hasn’t announced price hikes yet, but they are likely on the way. That could keep the 4Runner from ever getting close to its all-time record of 144,696 deliveries in 2021.

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The Wrangler and Bronco aren’t immune to the effects of the tariffs, as many of their parts will soon be subject to various new levies, but their domestic assembly puts them at an advantage over the Toyotas.

Neither Jeep nor Ford have announced plans to increase production quite yet, but both factories have excess capacity waiting to go. Jeep was actually going to cut back from two shifts to one last year, but reversed the decision after its parent company Stellantis changed CEOs and much of its strategy late last year.