1925–1998: Chrysler Corporation The Chrysler company was founded by Walter Chrysler on June 6, 1925, when the
Maxwell Motor Company (est. 1904) was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation. The
company was headquartered in the Detroit enclave of
Highland Park, where it remained until completing the move to its present Auburn Hills location in 1996. Chrysler had arrived at the ailing Maxwell-
Chalmers company in the early 1920s, hired to overhaul the company's troubled operations (after a similar rescue job at the
Willys-Overland car company). In late 1923, production of the Chalmers automobile was ended. The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, features absent from most autos at the time. Among the innovations in its early years were the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler with patents assigned to
Lockheed, and rubber engine mounts, called "
Floating Power" to reduce vibration. Chrysler also developed a wheel with a ridged
rim, designed to keep a deflated tire from flying off the wheel. This wheel was eventually adopted by the auto industry worldwide. The Maxwell brand was dropped after the 1925 model year, with the new, lower-priced four-cylinder Chryslers introduced for the 1926 year being
badge-engineered Maxwells. The advanced engineering and testing that went into Chrysler Corporation cars helped to push the company to the second-place position in U.S. sales by 1936, which it held until 1949. In 1928, the Chrysler Corporation began dividing its vehicle offerings by price class and function. The
Plymouth brand was introduced at the low-priced end of the market (created essentially by once again reworking and rebadging the Chrysler Series 50 four-cylinder model). automobile and truck company and continued the successful Dodge line of automobiles and Fargo range of trucks. By the mid-1930s, the DeSoto and Dodge divisions would trade places in the corporate hierarchy. The
Imperial name had been used since 1926 but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. However, in 1955, the company decided to offer it as its own make/brand and division to better compete with its rivals,
Lincoln and
Cadillac. This addition changed the company's traditional four-make lineup to five (in order of price from bottom to top): Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and the now-separate Imperial. all-transistor car radio – "Breaking News" radio broadcast announcement On April 28, 1955, Chrysler and
Philco announced the development and production of the World's First All-Transistor car radio. The all-transistor car radio, Mopar model 914HR, developed and produced by Chrysler and Philco, was a $150 option on the 1956
Imperial automobile models. Philco began manufacturing this radio in the fall of 1955 at its Sandusky Ohio plant. On September 28, 1957, Chrysler announced the first production electronic fuel injection (EFI), as an option on some of its new 1958 car models (Chrysler 300D, Dodge D500, DeSoto Adventurer, Plymouth Fury). The first attempt to use this system was by American Motors on the 1957
Rambler Rebel.
Bendix Corporation's Electrojector used a transistor "computer brain" modulator box, but teething problems on
pre-production cars meant very few cars were made. The EFI system in the Rambler ran fine in warm weather, but suffered hard starting in cooler temperatures and AMC decided not to use this EFI system on its 1957 Rambler Rebel production cars that were sold to the public. Owners of EFI Chryslers were so dissatisfied that all but one were retrofitted with carburetors (while that one has been completely restored, with original EFI electronic problems resolved). The
Valiant was also introduced for the 1960 model year as a distinct brand. In the U.S. market, Valiant was made a model in the Plymouth line for 1961 and the DeSoto make was discontinued in 1961. With those exceptions per applicable year and market, Chrysler's range from lowest to highest price from the 1940s through the 1970s was Valiant, Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial. In 1954, Chrysler was the exclusive provider of its Hemi V8 engine in the
Facel Vega, a French coachbuilder that offered its own line of hand-built luxury performance cars, coupled with the
PowerFlite and
TorqueFlite automatic transmissions. The
Facel Vega Excellence was a four-door hardtop with rear-hinged
coach doors that listed for US$12,800 ($ in dollars ). In 1960 Facel Vega introduced the smaller
Facellia sports car to capitalize on its sales success with Chrysler supplied engines. At the time, Chrysler didn't produce a four-cylinder engine, and the company had to find alternatives before production began. In 1960, Chrysler became the first of the "Big Three" automakers to switch to
unibody construction for its passenger cars, with the exception of Imperial, which continued to be produced on the
body-on-frame platform prevalent in the US until 1967, when the unibody construction had proven itself to be reliable enough that Chrysler was willing to also apply it to its flagship. From 1963 through 1969, Chrysler increased its existing stakes to take complete control of the French
Simca, British
Rootes, and Spanish
Barreiros companies, merging them into
Chrysler Europe in 1967. In the 1970s, an engineering partnership was established with
Mitsubishi Motors, and Chrysler began selling Mitsubishi vehicles branded as Dodge and Plymouth in North America. Chrysler struggled to adapt to the changing environment of the 1970s. When consumer tastes shifted to smaller cars in the early 1970s, particularly after the
1973 oil crisis, Chrysler could not meet the demand, although its compact models on the "A" body platform, the
Dodge Dart and
Plymouth Valiant, had proven economy and reliability and sold very well. Additional burdens came from increased US import competition, and tougher government regulation of car safety, fuel economy, and emissions. As the smallest of the Big 3 US automakers, Chrysler lacked the financial resources to meet all of these challenges. 1975 would be the last year for Imperial, except for an ill-fated attempt at revival in 1981-1983, for its low sales no longer justified it as a separate brand when it didn't offer much over a high-end
Chrysler New Yorker. In 1976, with the demise of the reliable Dart/Valiant, quality control declined. Their replacements, the
Dodge Aspen and
Plymouth Volare, were comfortable and had good roadability, but owners soon experienced major reliability problems which crept into other models as well. Engines failed and/or did not run well, and premature rust plagued bodies. In 1978,
Lee Iacocca was brought in to turn the company around, and in 1979 Iacocca sought US government help. Congress later passed the
Loan Guarantee Act providing $1.5 billion in loan guarantees. The
Loan Guarantee Act required that Chrysler also obtain $2 billion in concessions or aid from sources outside the federal government, which included interest rate reductions for $650 million of the savings, asset sales of $300 million, local and state tax concessions of $250 million, and wage reductions of about $590 million along with a $50 million stock offering. $180 million was to come from concessions from dealers and suppliers. Also in 1978, Iacocca offloaded the ailing European operation to
PSA Peugeot Citroën for a nominal $1, taking with it the group's substantial losses and debts which had been dragging the rest of the business down. After a period of plant closures and salary cuts agreed to by both management and the auto unions, the
Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries compact was introduced in 1981 on the all-new
Chrysler K platform, which was developed from the
Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni hatchbacks, which were introduced in 1978. Chrysler returned to profitability in 1980, repaying the loans with interest in 1983. The Omni/Horizon were first offered with four-cylinder engines provided by Chrysler Europe brand Simca, then Volkswagen, until the all-new Chrysler engineered
Chrysler K engine arrived. Chrysler had not manufactured a four-cylinder engine since 1933 when the
Chrysler flathead four-cylinder was canceled. In November 1983, the
Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager was introduced, built on a modified K platform, establishing the
minivan as a major category, and initiating Chrysler's return to stability. In 1985,
Diamond-Star Motors was created, further expanding the Chrysler-Mitsubishi relationship. in
Auburn Hills, Michigan, completed in 1996. Photo was taken in 2002. In 1985, Chrysler entered an agreement with
American Motors Corporation to produce
Chrysler M platform rear-drive, as well as
Dodge Omnis front wheel drive cars, in AMC's
Kenosha, Wisconsin, plant. In 1987, Chrysler acquired the 47% ownership of AMC that was held by
Renault. The remaining outstanding shares of AMC were bought on the
NYSE by August 5, 1987, making the deal valued somewhere between US$1.7 billion and US$2 billion, depending on how costs were counted. Chrysler CEO
Lee Iacocca wanted the Jeep brand, particularly the
Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ) that was under development, the new world-class manufacturing plant in
Bramalea, Ontario, and AMC's engineering and management talent that became critical for Chrysler's future success. Chrysler established the
Jeep/Eagle division as a "specialty" arm to market products distinctly different from the
K-car-based products with the
Eagle cars targeting import buyers. Former AMC
dealers sold
Jeep vehicles and various new Eagle models, as well as Chrysler products, strengthening the automaker's retail distribution system.
Eurostar, a joint venture between Chrysler and
Steyr-Daimler-Puch, began producing the
Chrysler Voyager in Austria for European markets in 1992.
1998–2007: DaimlerChrysler In 1998, Chrysler and its subsidiaries entered into a partnership dubbed a "merger of equals" with German-based
Daimler-Benz AG, creating the combined entity
DaimlerChrysler AG. To the surprise of many stockholders, Daimler acquired Chrysler in a
stock swap before Chrysler CEO
Bob Eaton retired. Under DaimlerChrysler, the company was named DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC, with its U.S. operations generally called "DCX". The Eagle brand was retired soon after Chrysler's merger with Daimler-Benz in 1998 Jeep became a stand-alone division, and efforts were made to merge the Chrysler and Jeep brands as one sales unit. In 2001, the Plymouth brand was also discontinued. Eurostar also built the
Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2001 and 2002. The Austrian venture was sold to
Magna International in 2002 and became
Magna Steyr. The Voyager continued in production until 2007, whereas the
Chrysler 300C,
Jeep Grand Cherokee, and
Jeep Commander were also built at the plant from 2005 until 2010. On May 14, 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced the sale of 80.1% of Chrysler Group to American
private equity firm
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., thereafter known as Chrysler LLC, although Daimler (renamed as
Daimler AG) continued to hold a 19.9% stake.
2007–2014: Effects of Great Recession The economic collapse during the
2008 financial crisis pushed the company to the brink. On April 30, 2009, the automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to be able to operate as a going concern, while renegotiating its debt structure and other obligations, which resulted in the corporation defaulting on over $4 billion in secured debts. The US Treasury, through the
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), invested $12.5 billion in Chrysler and recovered $11.2 billion when the company shares were sold in May 2011, resulting in a $1.3 billion loss. On July 21, 2011, Fiat bought the Chrysler shares held by the US Treasury. The purchase made Chrysler foreign-owned again, this time as the luxury division. The
Chrysler 300 was badged Lancia Thema in some European markets (with additional engine options), giving Lancia a much-needed replacement for its flagship.
2014–2021: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles On January 21, 2014, Fiat bought the remaining shares of Chrysler owned by the
VEBA worth $3.65 billion. The most challenging launch for this new company came immediately in January 2014 with a completely redesigned
Chrysler 200. The vehicle's creation is from the completely integrated company, FCA, executing from a global compact-wide platform. On December 16, 2014, Chrysler Group LLC announced a name change to FCA US LLC. On January 12, 2017, FCA shares traded at the New York Stock Exchange lost value after the
EPA accused FCA US of using emissions cheating software to evade diesel-emissions tests, however the company countered the accusations, and the chairman and CEO
Sergio Marchionne sternly rejected them. The following day, shares rose as investors played down the effect of the accusations. Analysts gave estimates of potential fines from several hundred million dollars to $4 billion, although the likelihood of a hefty fine was low.
Senior United States Senator Bill Nelson urged the
FTC to look into possible deceptive marketing of the company's diesel-powered SUVs. Shares dropped 2.2% after the announcement. FCA US would in 2022, plead guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to defraud the US, to wire fraud, and to violate the Clean Air Act. On July 21, 2018,
Sergio Marchionne stepped down as chairman and CEO for health reasons, and was replaced by
John Elkann and
Michael Manley, respectively. As a result of ending domestic production of more fuel-efficient passenger automobiles such as the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 sedans, FCA US elected to pay $77 million in fines for violating the anti-backsliding provision of
fuel economy standards set under the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for its model year 2016 fleet. It was again fined for the 2017 model year for not meeting the minimum domestic passenger car standard. FCA described the $79 million civil penalty as "not expected to have a material impact on its business." As part of a January 2019 settlement, Fiat Chrysler was to recall and repair approximately 100,000 automobiles equipped with a 3.0-liter V6
EcoDiesel engine having a prohibited
defeat device, pay $311 million in total civil penalties to US regulators and
CARB, pay $72.5 million for state civil penalties, implement corporate governance reforms, and pay $33.5 million to mitigate excess pollution. The company was also to pay affected consumers up to $280 million and offer extended warranties on such vehicles worth $105 million. The total value of the settlement was about $800 million, though FCA did not admit liability, and it did not resolve an ongoing criminal investigation.
2021–present: Stellantis On December 21, 2020, the
European Commission approved the merger between
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the owner of FCA US, LLC, and PSA Group (Peugeot Société Anonyme), with minimal conditions. Shareholders approved the deal on January 4, 2021, and the merger was finalized on January 16, 2021, with FCA US now part of a new entity:
Stellantis. Stellantis N.V. shares began trading under the symbol “STLA” on the
Milan Stock Exchange and
Euronext Paris on January 18, followed by the New York Stock Exchange on January 19, and on the
New York Stock Exchange on 19 January. For accounting purposes,
PSA was designated the acquirer, and financial statements reflect PSA's historical performance. Under
Tavares' leadership,
Stellantis faced growing criticism over its cost-cutting strategy, declining sales, and strained relations with key stakeholders. Tavares implemented aggressive restructuring measures, including job cuts and strict control over product development, which some analysts blamed for delays in launching new models and weakening brand performance, particularly at Stellantis North America. U.S. dealers expressed concern about rising inventories and brand mismanagement, while the United Auto Workers criticized the company over job cuts and halted investment plans. In 2024, Stellantis reported a 70% drop in net profit, with global shipments and U.S. market share declining significantly. Amid internal friction with the board and worsening financial performance,
Carlos Tavares resigned in December 2024, two years before his contract was set to expire. In February 2024, Chrysler unveiled a concept for its first electric vehicle, the
Chrysler Halcyon, a battery-electric sedan. On 28 May 2025, the board of Stellantis unanimously appointed
Antonio Filosa, a longtime executive who had led Stellantis operations in North and South America, as CEO, effective 23 June 2025. Filosa is expected to place renewed emphasis on the North American market. However, the majority of its management team remains based in Europe. Following the appointment of new CEO Filosa, formerly COO of Stellantis North America, Stellantis announced on June 10, 2025, that he will be based in
Auburn Hills, Michigan. His predecessor,
Carlos Tavares, former CEO of
PSA Group, was based in Europe and regularly worked remotely from his Portuguese property. He was considered by some to have insufficient presence in the United States. On 14 October 2025, Stellantis North America announced an investment of $13 billion to strengthen its growth in the United States over the next four years. The company claims this is its largest investment in its century-long history in the United States. The
Belvidere, Illinois, plant will reopen for production of two new
Jeep Cherokee and
Jeep Compass vehicles. The company also said it will create more than 5,000 manufacturing jobs in four
Midwestern U.S. states.
Logo evolution First chrysler logo 1925.png|1925–1955 Chrysler_Corporation_Logo_(1955_-_1962).svg|1955–1962 Chrysler_logo_1962.png|1962–1998 DaimlerChrysler wordmark.svg|1998–2007 Chrysler Group logo.svg|2007–2014 Fiat_Chrysler_Automobiles_logo.svg|2014–2021 Stellantis.svg|2021–present ;Notes ==Corporate governance==