the automotive world.

It has a military pedigree that dates back to at

least World War Two, and for generations, it has

sustained its rugged, classic, American image.

It is also Fiat Chrysler's top selling brand, and

it inspires a rare sort of cult like devotion

other automakers would kill for.

Jeep specializes in sport utility vehicles.

It does not make a single sedan or sports coupe.

That has left it extraordinarily well positioned

for the recent boom in SUVs.

And I think one of the cool things about the Jeep

brand is over the years, we've really stayed true

to that first and core being of authenticity and

what four wheel drive capability means.

However, the secret is out and automakers

everywhere are ramping up their own SUV and

pickup inventories, and some are aiming their

products squarely at segments Jeep has long

dominated. Jeep is answering with a slew of new

innovations and new products to preserve its

strong position and envied reputation.

Industry insiders say Jeep can no longer expect

that its legendary name and distinctive styling

will keep buyers coming back.

Jeep traces its modern history back to 1940, and

its story starts with war.

Preparing for its involvement in World War Two,

the United States government sent requests to 135

automakers for a quarter ton light reconnaissance

vehicle. Three responded Ford, a company called

Bantam, and a third company by the name of

Willys-Overland. Willys-Overland made about

360,000 jeeps for the U.S.

Army throughout the war.

As World War Two ended, Willys debuted the first

civilian Jeep, or CJ, for the public in 1945.

Before the war was over, the government and really

the public recognized what a wonderful vehicle

this was. So even before the war was over early

in the war, actually the engineers

Willy-Overland began designing a civilian

version. Willys-Overland was allowed to begin

manufacture before the war is even over.

July 17th, 45 the first civilian Jeep rolled off

the line. It released the Willys wagon in 1946,

the Willys-Overland truck in 1947, and briefly

even a convertible sedan called the Jeepster,

which ran from 1948 to 1951.

Over the years, the Jeep brand name grew.

At different points in its history, Jeep has made

pickup trucks, wagons, military and civilian

jeeps, and an array of commercial vehicles, some

that broke new ground in engineering and design.

For example, in the 1940s, Jeep released the

first all steel station wagon, which resisted

rain and weathering much better than the wood

paneled wagons common at the time.

In the 1960s, the Jeep catalog dramatically

expanded to fourteen models from just six in the

1950s. The Wagoneer, introduced in the 1960s,

brought the first overhead cam six cylinder truck

engine and was the first four by four vehicle to

have automatic transmission and an independent

front suspension. This was the first time that a

station wagon body with four wheel drive and

automatic transmission.

Nobody had put an automatic transmission through

a four wheel drive system before, which really

expanded the market. So it really stepped up the

SUV game, really was a game changer.

In the 1970s, Jeep introduced the first automatic

full time four wheel drive system, considered

revolutionary at the time.

In the following decade, the 1980s, the company

came out with another vehicle that would proved

revolutionary, the Jeep Cherokee XJ, one of the

best selling SUVs of all time, and a big step

toward the compact crossovers so frequently seen

since in the 2000s, Jeep released the Wrangler

Rubicon then and now, the most capable Jeep

Wrangler trim level.

In that era, the company also came out with a four

door version of the Wrangler, which dramatically

boosted sales.

Over the years, ownership of the Jeep brand has

changed hands several times.

It was initially owned by Willys-Overland, then

bought by Kaiser in the 1960s.

Kaiser later sold Jeep to American Motor

Corporation and left auto making entirely.

AMC was then itself sold to French carmaker

Renault before Chrysler bought AMC in 1987.

Of course, Jeep was then caught up in the

troubles Chrysler faced throughout its history,

including an ill fated acquisition by the German

automaker Daimler, known for the Mercedes Benz

brand. Daimler sold Chrysler to private equity

firm, Cerberus Capital Management, and then

Chrysler went bankrupt in 2009.

It was briefly owned by the US government and

then sold to Italian carmaker Fiat, forming the

Fiat Chrysler Group of brands.

Despite this tumultuous history, Jeep has been

able to maintain a surprisingly consistent fan

and customer base, part of the reason for this,

say many auto industry insiders, is its appeal to

heritage. The brand has a long and illustrious

history, and models made today bear a fair amount

of resemblance to the earliest Willys Jeeps sold

to the U.S. Army.

I would describe Jeep as a very, very heritage

built brand. In fact, it may be one of the most

heritage build brands in the marketplace today.

The best example of this, of course, is the

Wrangler, that imposing rugged rock climber,

beloved by hardcore off roaders and people who

want other people to think they're hard core off

roaders. Though it has changed over time, the

Wrangler's DNA goes all the way back to the

original Willys Jeeps sold during the World War

Two era. The civilian jeeps, or CJ models that

were built as the war ended in 1945 lasted until

1986, a 41 year history.

They were incredibly popular.

The CJ-5 alone had a 30 year production history,

the longest of any single production vehicle at

the time it was discontinued.

The actual Wrangler name debuted in 1986 in time

for the 1987 model year.

It is hard to emphasize just how strong the

Wrangler's reputation is among off roading

vehicles. The Wrangler is absolutely by far and

away the halo vehicle of the Jeep brand.

It's really the sole and center of the Jeep

brand. It's also one of Jeep's hottest sellers in

numerical terms. But the Jeep brand really

wouldn't be what it is without the Wrangler.

In fact, I would argue that the Jeep brand

couldn't exist in its current state without

Wrangler. Jeep sold about 228,000 wranglers in

2019 and 240,000 the year before.

Apart from the Wrangler, Jeep's other two most

popular models in the US are also pivotal

products, in both Jeep's history and the history

of the automotive industry.

They are the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee.

The Cherokee began life in the 1970s as a two

door version of the Wagoneer built on the

Wagoneer's large platform called the SJ platform

in the company's nomenclature.

In 1984, Jeep transferred the Cherokee and

Wagoneer names to a smaller platform that went by

the label XJ.

This was in part a response to anxieties over gas

prices spurred by the oil crises of the 1970s.

It was a pioneering move.

And I think what Jeep had originally kind of paved

the way for some of these other brands to create

more comfortable, more car like, nicer ride SUVs,

because they knew that people like that body

style that like outdoorsy, utilitarian, a lot of

cargo space, usable space type of vehicle.

The XJ platform made the Cherokee the first SUV

with unibody construction, meaning it was built

using a construction method where the body of the

car and the chassis are fused together.

Unibody construction has long been thought to

offer many advantages for certain types of cars.

It can make them lighter, easier to handle, and

drive at high speeds, for example.

It hit the sport utility vehicle and pickup truck

segments later due to the common preference for

traditional body on frame construction in

vehicles that haul or drive off road.

Just like the way the early Willys Jeeps provided

a template for the classic American jeep form

that became the Wrangler, the Cherokee was

critical in helping to define the template for

the modern sport utility vehicle and crossover

that have become ubiquitous in America.

The Cherokee was really one of the big models that

inspired this huge rush to SUVs that eventually

came into full force in the 90s.

It would have happened without that original 1984

Cherokee that really planted the seed.

The Grand Cherokee, released in 1993, was a

pioneering premium crossover SUV.

It looked modern, it felt it modern, it was

modern, all the way through it. They really

changed people's perception of an SUV, that it

could be your daily driver.

These key products and others have turned Jeep

into one of the most adored and envied brands in

the automotive world.

Jeeps represent today vehicles that are, for the

most part, very, very practical and functional

for everyday life. But they have this mystique

about the brand that makes people coming back for

more. Much of what fuels this admiration is a

strong base of customers and fans.

Jeep owners have their own clubs and schedule

events dedicated to driving.

For example, weekend long Jeep Jamboree off road

trips have been happening since 1953, when a Jeep

owner first organized a drive across the Rubicon

Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Jeep has also listened to its customers over the

decades and used feedback to refine the Jeep

Wrangler's designs.

The Wrangler changes little from year to year,

but Jeep does make incremental improvements based

on customer input.

It's really the customers that run the brand.

And we listen to them and and try to respond to

them with what they're looking for with respect

to product. So a couple of recent examples of us

doing that are the diesel engine in the in the

Wrangler, they asked for that very common

request. Gladiator was a great example of that as

well, bringing a pickup truck back to the Jeep

line up. The Jeep Wrangler's gradually shifting

looks give it a continuity with its past.

It also makes it easy to source parts for

repairs. And Wranglers are known for their

excellent aftermarket support.

Jeep also has a strong reputation outside the

United States, even in countries where American

cars are not that popular.

For example, U.S. automakers control a minuscule

portion of the auto market in Japan, where buyers

favor smaller vehicles with features more

tailored to local tastes.

However, of the American brands in Japan, Jeep

stands out. Japanese buyers bought 13,354 Jeeps

in 2019.

The second most popular American brand,

Chevrolet, sold only 585 units the same year.

Jeep sales were actually up 16% in Japan in 2019,

despite the fact that car sales overall were down

1.5% and import sales rose only 3.2% percent.

Interestingly enough, for a country that loves

small cars, the boxy Wrangler is Japan's most

popular Jeep model.

Jeep is also making some inroads elsewhere in the

world. It is, for example, becoming a serious

threat to Land Rover in Europe, surpassing the

legendary British brand on that continent in

2018.

The strong brand recognition has helped make Jeep

Fiat Chrysler's best selling brand by a pretty

wide margin. FCA sold 923,291 Jeeps in 2019.