With 80-years-old history, one question frequently comes to jeep fans’ minds is who owns the jeep company, where are jeeps made. It is no secret that the Jeep changed ownership several times in its long life.
Currently, the jeep brand owns by the multinational company Stellantis headquartered in Amsterdam. The 50–50 cross-border merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. This post gives you a complete history of jeep ownership and places where these American automobile marques are made.
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Who Owns Jeep (complete history)
History begins with the United States’ involvement in World War II. In 1940 American Bantam Car Company built the first jeep but lacked to deliver the required number of vehicles for the U.S army. That’s how Willys-Overland and ford stepped in.
1944-1953 - Willys-Overland owns jeep
After the world war, Willys-Overland filed the original trademark application for the “Jeep” brand name in 1943. Willys produced the first Civilian Jeep (CJ) in 1945. The company entered the passenger-car market but proved unsuccessful.
1953–1964 - Kaiser Motors ( “Willys Motors”) owns jeep
In 1952 Willys Aero sedan failed in the passenger car market. The failure ended up with the company’s acquisition by Kaiser Motors in 1953, for $60 million.
1964–1970 - Kaiser Jeep owns jeep
Kaiser initially named the merged company Willys Motors. But they renamed themselves Kaiser Jeep in 1963.
1970–1987 - AMC owns jeep
American Motors Corporation (AMC) Acquired Kaiser’s money-losing Jeep operations in 1970, for $70 million. By 1987, the automobile markets had changed. The AMC investor French automaker Renault was experiencing financial troubles.At the same time, Chrysler Corporation wanted to capture AMC.
1987–1998 - Chrysler Corporation owns jeep
Chrysler Corporation purchased AMC in 1987. Soon, After the Jeep CJ-7 replacement with the AMC-designed Wrangler YJ. But Chrysler later merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 and tucked into DaimlerChrysler.
1998–2007- DaimlerChrysler AG owns jeep
DaimlerChrysler ultimately sold most of its stake in Chrysler to a private equity company in 2007.
2007–2009 - Chrysler LLC owns jeep
Chrysler Group LLC manage the oprations.
2009–2013 - Chrysler Group LLC - Fiat Group Automobiles owns jeep
Chrysler and the Jeep company operated under Chrysler Group LLC, until 2014.
2014–2021 - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles owns jeep
Chrysler tucked into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with the stateside associate operating under FCA US LLC.
2021–Present - Stellantis
Now, Jeep owns by the multinational company Stellantis. The merger between FCA and the French PSA Group. The company headquarters is in Amsterdam.
Where are Jeep made?
Jeeps are made mainly in America. Jeep parts are manufactured in ten plants in six countries (United States, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, China, and India). Yet, they assemble in the United States.