Jeep and Ram partner with Bono's (RED) organization for special-edition vehicles

Jeep, Ram Trucks and Fiat are partnering with U2 frontman Bono’s (RED) organization to offer special-edition vehicles, aimed at raising more than $4 million to fight against health crises.

The vehicles will include “(RED)” editions of the Jeep Compass and Renegade small SUVs, Ram 1500 pickup and, for Europe, an electric version of the Fiat 500, which Stellantis previously discontinued in the U.S.

Money from the sale of the vehicles will support the Global Fund, which began operations in 2002 to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It has since expanded to include aid for the coronavirus pandemic.

The automaker declined to say how much profit from each vehicle sale will go toward the organization.

The tie-up is the latest for (RED), which has formerly partnered with Amazon, Apple, Beats and Starbucks. It also adds to the list of collaborations for Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer of the company, formerly Fiat Chrysler and maker of Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles. He has become known for convincing brands such as Gucci and celebrities like Eminem, Bill Murray and Bruce Springsteen to partner or advertise for the automaker.

“As the first automotive brands ever to join forces with (RED), a leader in the worldwide fight against pandemics, our immediate goal is to initiate a call to action to help combat these global health emergencies, including COVID-19 relief efforts,” Francois said in a release.

Bono, co-founder of (RED), called the partnership with the automaker “a power shot in the arm” for the organization’s “fight against pandemics and the complacency that fuels them.”

“I’m here to sell an idea that unless this pandemic is defeated everywhere, no one is safe anywhere,” Bono said during a news conference on top of Fiat’s former headquarters in Turin, Italy. “I’m not sure it’s clear that people realize that it’s not an act of charity to get vaccines out to people who live on the other side of the world, it’s enlightened self-interest.”

The Jeep Compass and Fiat 500 are red in the color of the (RED) organization’s logo. The Ram 1500 is black with red badging and accents. All of the vehicles feature other red characteristics and special (RED) badging.

(RED), named for the color of emergency, is not a nonprofit. It is an organization created by Bono and activist Bobby Shriver in 2012 to engage companies to donate and raise awareness for its causes.

(RED), which has been criticized for financial transparency and partnering with companies that could have easily offered to donate funds, reports it has generated nearly $700 million for the Global Fund, helping more than 220 million people.