If Chinese company buys Jeep, will Wrangler be affected?

[Indio]

In 2008 Tata (India company) bought Land Rover from Ford. Under Tata the last Defender rolled out in 2016. Imagine Jeep without the Wrangler. Who knows if a Chinese owner would eventually mess up the Wrangler - would rather not find out.

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[AlexK]

To be fair, the Defender ceased production because it doesn't meet crash safety and emissions regs, and after years of prevarication by Land Rover, they didn't have a replacement in waiting. Land Rover's fault, not Tata's.

Under Tata's ownership, Jaguar Land Rover is now in a position where they can sell everything they make several times over. When Ford sold JLR, they were deemed a 'problem child' they couldn't wait to get rid of. I think Tata deserve credit for the way they've managed JLR - their arm's length stewardship and investment has created the most profitable period in the company's history.

There's a similar story with Geely's ownership of Volvo. They were artificially held back for years, but with Chinese investment they've flourished. When the new XC90 launched I remember asking a senior figure how in a short space of time they'd managed to construct an entirely new platform, a new series of engines, create a new design language, and develop the technology packages that fit alongside. The answer was "we were given the money and resources we needed and told to go away and make great products."

I didn't like the DaimlerChrysler era in Jeep's history - too much cost-cutting - and while I'm definitely not a fan of FCA, the Jeep brand has enjoyed unprecedented levels of investment in recent years. It's also incredibly profitable, which is why I can't see FCA selling it any time soon since it's propping up the rest of the group.

Personally, though, I wouldn't fear Chinese ownership, particularly if it allowed Jeep to do its own thing. And given what JLR and Volvo have achieved under foreign ownership, that seems entirely possible to me.

 

[Indio]

To be fair, the Defender ceased production because it doesn't meet crash safety and emissions regs, and after years of prevarication by Land Rover, they didn't have a replacement in waiting. Land Rover's fault, not Tata's.

Under Tata's ownership, Jaguar Land Rover is now in a position where they can sell everything they make several times over. When Ford sold JLR, they were deemed a 'problem child' they couldn't wait to get rid of. I think Tata deserve credit for the way they've managed JLR - their arm's length stewardship and investment has created the most profitable period in the company's history.

There's a similar story with Geely's ownership of Volvo. They were artificially held back for years, but with Chinese investment they've flourished. When the new XC90 launched I remember asking a senior figure how in a short space of time they'd managed to construct an entirely new platform, a new series of engines, create a new design language, and develop the technology packages that fit alongside. The answer was "we were given the money and resources we needed and told to go away and make great products."

I didn't like the DaimlerChrysler era in Jeep's history - too much cost-cutting - and while I'm definitely not a fan of FCA, the Jeep brand has enjoyed unprecedented levels of investment in recent years. It's also incredibly profitable, which is why I can't see FCA selling it any time soon since it's propping up the rest of the group.

Personally, though, I wouldn't fear Chinese ownership, particularly if it allowed Jeep to do its own thing. And given what JLR and Volvo have achieved under foreign ownership, that seems entirely possible to me.

Tata deserves the credit people here would give FCA, if under them Wrangler ceased production, and they were proposing an eventual unibody replacement. No Wrangler for you, but how about this lux Grand Cherokee? Long live Jeep.

 

[MEO73]

What’s sort of ironic is that General Eisenhower once called jeep “the little vehicle that won the war,” but it’s now been owned by two of the former Axis powers, Germany and now Italy. Sort of a fun fact!

 

[Indio]

What’s sort of ironic is that General Eisenhower once called jeep “the little vehicle that won the war,” but it’s now been owned by two of the former Axis powers, Germany and now Italy. Sort of a fun fact!

They could not include Japan this time, because the Wrangler only has two "axis".

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