Chinese Automaker Confirms it’s Interested in Buying Jeep

[Murphy]

Interesting. Jeep, an iconic American brand, symbol of the great outdoors and US ingenuity, may be bought by China's Great Wall. Jiminy Jillikers!

Chinese Automaker Confirms it’s Interested in Buying Jeep
By Jason Siu for Autoguide.com

Reports of a Chinese automaker interested in acquiring FCA has been the topic of discussion for the past couple weeks, but recently three major Chinese automaker denied plans to acquire the Italian-American automaker. Now, Great Wall has confirmed to Automotive News it is interested in acquiring the Jeep brand and has reached out to FCA to see if a deal can be negotiated. The Chinese automaker is aiming to become the world’s largest SUV maker and naturally acquiring Jeep would help reach its goal quicker.

Great Wall says it has not yet made a formal offer or met with FCA’s board, but is “deeply interested in the Jeep brand and have paid close attention to it for a long time.”

The Chinese automaker built a research and development facility in Detroit this year and has been using that to learn more about the U.S. market. It also has a research and development center in Los Angeles.

Last April, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne told analysts it’s possible the automaker could spin Jeep off on its own. If Jeep becomes available as a standalone brand, there could be a lot more bidders than just China’s Great Wall.

Chinese Automaker Confirms it's Interested in Buying Jeep » AutoGuide.com News

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Meh, just passing it around. Thw WWII jeeps were made by an outfit called Willy's. They later sold the name to AMC, who brought out the forbears to the modern Jeeps. When AMC went under, Chrysler bought the name. Then Fiat bought Chrysler, so at that point Jeep became Italian. There's no resemblance between the great jeep of WWII and the four-wheel-drive suburban assault vehicles that never go off-road today, so what difference does it make? Jeep is currently owned by a country that was an enemy in WWII. At least they could sell it to a country that was an ally.

 

[Murphy]

That's true, but you have to consider people's perception of a possible sale to China. I do not know how the 20 somethings will react. They have no memory of past troubles with China, but are probably aware of their human rights record. Would feelings about China translate into fewer sales? Dunno.

Of course, there could be others who would want to own the Jeep brand and bid on it, should that division go up for sale. It's all about money for Fiat. Or they could be putting it out there for business reasons, with no intention of selling.

We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

That's true, but you have to consider people's perception of a possible sale to China.

Well, actually, I don't. I gave up on considering the perception of idiots quite some time back.

I do not know how the 20 somethings will react. They have no memory of past troubles with China, but are probably aware of their human rights record. Would feelings about China translate into fewer sales? Dunno.

There might be a few pseudo-warriors that would be upset, but usually people that stupid don't have enough money to buy a Jeep anyhow, so I don't see much impact on business.

Of course, there could be others who would want to own the Jeep brand and bid on it, should that division go up for sale. It's all about money for Fiat. Or they could be putting it out there for business reasons, with no intention of selling.

We'll have to wait and see.

There'll be a little whimpering in a few corners, but not much.

 

[Curious Cdn]

Good.Maybe they can fix the damned things. Jeep products consistently land at the bottom of everyone's build quality surveys.

Suggestion: put a (somewhat safer) version of the old Willys on the market with all sorts of soup-up kits. Fun cars are hard to find, these days.

 

[petros]

Being garbage as it is can Chinese make them worse?

 

[taxslave]

Meh, just passing it around. Thw WWII jeeps were made by an outfit called Willy's. They later sold the name to AMC, who brought out the forbears to the modern Jeeps. When AMC went under, Chrysler bought the name. Then Fiat bought Chrysler, so at that point Jeep became Italian. There's no resemblance between the great jeep of WWII and the four-wheel-drive suburban assault vehicles that never go off-road today, so what difference does it make? Jeep is currently owned by a country that was an enemy in WWII. At least they could sell it to a country that was an ally.

some of the WW2 Willys were made by Ford too.

Some of the electrical parts and probably other stuff is already made in China.