Today, we will discuss “The chronology of the Jeep Ownership.” You probably already know that the first Jeeps were used as mighty war vehicles during the Second World War. Jeep’s history is this colorful, and its ownership chronology is no different. The iconic Jeep has gone under different management, and along with that were significant changes to the Jeep that we know today. Here’s a look at the history of Jeep ownership.
1941-1963: Willys-Overland
It all started when Willy-Overland went into an agreement with the Federal government to supply military vehicles during the war. The origin of the name Jeep is still a subject of debate today. Some say it’s from the phonetics of the letters G and P which stood for ‘general purpose,’ a term they used in the military at that time. Others claim it was inspired by the name of one character in Popeye called Eugene the Jeep.
Willys-Overland obtained the trademark for the name “Jeep†in 1950. Only three years after that, Kaiser-Frazer purchased the company for $62.3 million. Jeeps continued to be produced but Willys-Overland was dropped in 1963, and replaced by the Kaiser Jeep International Corporation.
1963-1970: Kaiser Jeep International Corporation
At the time Kaiser purchased Willys, it was still producing other passenger car lines–same with Willys-Overland. When the merger happened, the company entirely dropped the other passenger car lines and focused on producing Jeeps.
It was just a few years later that American Motors Corporation (AMC) entered into negotiations with Kaiser Jeep to buy the company. It successfully happened in 1970.
1970-1987: American Motors Corporation
The first order of business when AMC obtained Jeep was to switch out all engines to AMC ones, which, well, made sense since AMC was capable of producing its own engines. This was the time when the Jeep CJ had its peak. AMC was keen on rebranding the Jeep from an agricultural workhorse to a sports vehicle. A redesign of the body of the CJ was also necessary during this time because of the bulkier AMC engine replacements.
In 1977, AMC sold 124,843 Jeeps, which was a huge feat at that time given that AMCC suffered losses for two consecutive years prior to this record.
1979-1987: Renault
In 1979, Renault, a French company, invested in AMC. Both companies were struggling at that time and the alliance was necessary. This was the time when the XJ Cherokee was introduced and hit record sales but the financial struggle continued and Renault had to sell off AMC to Chrysler.
1987-1988: Chrysler
Jeep was the only AMC brand that Chrysler continued after it bought the struggling company. Later on, Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz in 1988 and was called DaimlerChrysler.
2007-2014: Chrysler LLC
Daimler eventually sold its interests in Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management in 2007 and the Jeep was sold under the operations of Chrysler Group LLC until 2014.
2014-2021: Fiat Chrysler
Fiat bought Chrysler in January 2014 under a deal with the government as an attempt to save Chrysler after it declared bankruptcy in 2009.
2021-Present: Stellantis
In 2021, Fiat Chrysler merged with Peugeot S.A. Group and formed Stellantis. The ownership of both Chrysler and Jeep is now under Stellantis.
So, we hope that you know each and everything about “The chronology of the Jeep Ownership.” We highly appreciate your feedback on our blog.
