Chrysler has strongly denied rumours that it is to sell off its Jeep brand, stating that “Chrysler will not separate the brands from the company”.
Chrysler vice chairman and president Tom LaSorda said: “Reports that we’re in discussions to sell the Jeep brand are absolutely false.”
As one of the better-known brands in the Chrysler group, rumours that the struggling manufacturer is looking to offload Jeep have been rife since the company approached the US government for emergency bail-out money last year.
Other emergency strategies rumoured to be under consideration by the company are the sale of tooling and other production assets, both of which have been denied by LaSorda. But LaSorda added that interest was welcome from foreign companies looking to buy old tooling.
“We have not seen any formal proposals from the Japanese, Chinese or Koreans, although we would consider selling or licensing older assets if they’re interested,” said LaSorda. “We’ve been on the record for over a year that we would be selling non-earning assets.”
Any deal to sell off parts of the Chrysler group would now have to be sanctioned by the government-appointed ‘car czar’ under the terms of the US bail-out agreement, with any transaction valued at over $100m now needing approval.
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