Jeep has confirmed that its new Grand Wagoneer SUV, on sale by 2018, will be a flagship model to rival Range Rovers and other high-end 4x4s.

Speaking to Autocar, Jeep global brand director Michael Manley said: “Part of my plan says there is space for us above the Grand Cherokee. I’ve always talked about Grand Wagoneer and that for me is a big focus and will fill out the brand at the top.”

Jeep first announced the return of the Grand Wagoneer nameplate in 2012 at the Geneva motor show, but its relationship to the Grand Cherokee, currently Jeep’s flagship, has not always been made clear.

“I think that vehicle [Grand Wagoneer] will very, very effectively compete with premium SUVs,” Manley said at the recent Paris motor show.

The new Grand Wagoneer has three rows of seating, which would pitch it in the territory of the new Land Rover Discovery as well as the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport.

However, Manley said that the new Grand Wagoneer will not occupy a market slot that overlaps with the forthcoming Maserati Levante, another SUV within the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group.

The Levante shares some componentry with the Grand Cherokee platform but it will take a notably different market position from the Grand Wagoneer’s.

“Maserati and Jeep are two very different brands,” said Manley. “I have zero sleepless nights about the launch of their vehicle. The Levante will play in a part of the market that Jeep is not playing in.”

To reinforce his point about Jeep’s future positioning, Manley identified Land Rover as Jeep’s main competition.

“Range Rover is a different story [to Maserati],” he said. “Jeep and Range Rover have historically competed. Range Rover is the other pure SUV brand in the world. So they will always be our competitors.”

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