Chrysler

Chrysler was founded by American manufacturer Walter Percy Chrysler in 1925. Having made his reputation in the automobile industry working for Buick, Chrysler took over the struggling Maxwell Motor Company and used its remaining assets to form his new Chrysler Corporation. Strong sales generated by the release of early Dodge and Plymouth models in the late 1930s helped Chrysler sail through the Great Depression, elevating them to the second highest-selling American automobile brand for over a decade. Chrysler cars arrived in Australia during the 1920s and, by the early 1960s, Chrysler Australia was producing its own additions to the Chrysler range. In 1962, Chrysler Australia unveiled the Valiant, which boosted the company’s registration figures for the year by 146 percent. Since 1987, Chrysler has been owner of the Jeep trademark, an automotive icon and the oldest off-road vehicle brand on the market. The first Jeep was designed for use by the US army and allies during World War II, and the marque has since seen much iteration, including the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, the Patriot and the Wrangler. After a merger with Daimler-Benz Corporation in 1998, the new DaimlerChrylser company experienced a period of difficulty, but reasserted itself with a strong 2005 model year range, including top-selling models Chrysler 300 (followed later by the Chrysler 300C), Dodge Magnum wagon, Dodge Charger and Dodge Caliber. Chrysler introduced its first hybrid cars in 2009 – the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen full-size SUVs, based on a two-mode advanced hybrid system developed with General Motors and BMW. Uncertain financial times took their toll on Chrysler in 2009, but a merger with American giant Fiat offered a critical boost, bringing substantial financial benefits to both companies.