Jeep shows Renegade -- its newest, smallest SUV

NEW YORK — The Italian-built new Jeep Renegade small SUV made its North American debut here on Wednesday,

The Renegade is the brand's first subcompact SUV and will compete with the new Trax subcompact introduced at the show by Chevrolet and the Honda's Fit-based HR-V small SUV being introduced here.

Vehicles such as Trax, HR-V and Renegade show that automakers are confident that there will be growing demand in America for small crossovers and SUVs. The small models also will help automakers push the average fuel economy of their fleets to new highs.

The rugged looking Renegade takes styling cues from the Wrangler. Built in Italy, but designed in the U.S., the 2015 Renegade will be sold in more than 100 markets around the globe. Analysts expect it particularly to be a hit in China, Europe and South America. It is a distant relative mechanically to the new four-door Fiat 500L.

"It's a Jeep that will help to propel our brand momentum for years to come," Mike Manley, Jeep CEO, said.

The 2015 Renegade was shown last month in Geneva and Wednesday was the first showing in North America.

Globally subcompact SUVs accounts for nearly 2.5 million in annual sales, Manley said. About 1.1 million are in Europe with another 1.1 million in Asia and 250,000 annually in the U.S.

In addition to the Trax, the Renegade will compete against the Buick Encore, Kia Soul, Mini Countryman, and Nissan Juke. But Jeep says it will be the only one with true off-road capability.

Buyers will have the choice of a 2.4-liter Tigershark engine paired to the segment's first nine-speed automatic transmission, or a 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo engine with six-speed manual transmission.

Four-wheel drive comes standard on the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk model and is optional on other Renegade models.

"The all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade symbolizes the brand's renowned American design, ingenuity and innovation," Manley said.

Manley also said Renegade could be produced in China by Fiat Chrysler's soon-to-be announced joint-venture with Guangzhou Auto. He said Fiat Chrysler has made substantial progress toward finalizing a joint venture with Guangzhou Auto to build Jeeps in China. The company has been working on that deal for nearly two years. Fiat-Chrysler is far behind General Motors, Volkswagen and Ford in China, now the world's largest auto market.