Jeep is an American icon. The automaker's roots date back to World War II, and the company's vehicles have been serving the needs of American drivers (on and off-road) for decades.
The Jeep brand has had lots of owners over the years. It was part of Chrysler for many decades. Today, Jeep is part of Stellantis (STLA 0.39%), a European automaker that owns several well-known global car brands.
Here's a closer look at Jeep's owner. We'll also explore Stellantis' largest shareholders and its board of directors. This information will help you decide whether you want to invest in the stock of the company that owns the iconic Jeep brand.
Who is the owner of Jeep?
Jeep has changed hands several times over the decades. The company's roots date back to the early days of World War II when the U.S. Army wanted a four-wheel-drive reconnaissance car in case the country joined the war. The company's most prominent owner was Chrysler Corp., once a member of Detroit's big three automakers. It owned the brand for years after buying out American Motor Company in 1987, primarily for the Jeep brand.
However, Italian automaker Fiat bought out Chrysler in 2014, creating Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA). A few years later, FCA agreed to merge with Peugeot to create one of the largest global automakers. They renamed the combined company Stellantis. The global automaker owns several leading brands, including Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Opel, Maserati, Ram, Peugeot, and Citroen.
Largest shareholders
Who are the largest shareholders?
Jeep has a single shareholder: Stellantis. The company formed in 2021 following the merger of FCA (which was the sole owner of Jeep at the time) and Peugeot. Stellantis owns several other car brands in addition to Jeep.
Shareholder
Stellantis is a publicly traded company with many shareholders. Here's a look at the global automaker's five largest investors as of June 2024.
- EXOR Nederland (EXXRF -0.86%) holds almost 450 million shares (14.2% of its outstanding stock) worth more than $11.7 billion. The European holding company is Stellantis' largest investor. Stellantis was its second-largest holding by gross asset value at the end of 2023 at 23.9%. It also owns shares of Ferrari (RACE 0.38%), CNH Industrial (CNHI 1.27%), and Philips (PHG 0.32%), among other companies.
- Peugeot Invest owns almost 225 million shares of Stellantis (7.1%) worth more than $5.8 billion. Peugeot Invest is a long-term investment company. It's one of the largest shareholders of Stellantis and automotive technology company Forvia (FURCF -0.14%).
- Bpifrance: The French sovereign wealth fund owns almost 193 million shares of Jeep's owner, Stellantis (7.1%). Those shares are worth about $5.5 billion.
- Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) holds almost 118 million shares (3.7%) of the automaker worth over $3.3 billion. The publicly traded asset manager holds shares in several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that it manages, including iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA -0.27%). The fund, which aims to track the performance of developed markets outside of the U.S. and Canada, holds 13 million shares (0.4%) worth about $290 million.
- Dongfeng Motor: The Chinese state-owned automaker has a 3.1% stake in Stellantis. It holds almost 98 million shares worth more than $1.8 billion. Stellantis has a joint venture with Dongfeng in China. It has been buying back shares from its joint venture partner in recent years, including 50 million in late 2023 (1.6% of its outstanding shares at the time).
Board of directors
Who is on the board of directors for Jeep?
As a subsidiary of a publicly traded company, Jeep doesn't have a separate board of directors. The Stellantis board oversees all its automobile brands, including Jeep.
Board of Directors
As of mid-2024, Stellantis' 11-member board consisted of:
- John Elkann joined Stellantis' board at its creation in January 2021 as an executive director and board chair. He previously served as the chair and executive director of FCA, a role he held since October 2014. Before that, he was the chairman of Fiat, where he had been a board member since 1997. Elkann is also the CEO of Exor, one of the company's leading shareholders. He owns more than 1 million shares of Stellantis.
- Carlos Tavares is the CEO and executive director of Stellantis. He was previously the chairman of Peugeot's managing board, a position he had held since 2014. Tavares also previously served as the CEO of Renault. He holds almost 1.2 million shares of Stellantis.
- Robert Peugeot has been a non-executive director and vice chairman of the board since Stellantis' formation in 2021. He's also the board chair of Peugeot Invest, one of the company's leading shareholders. Peugeot held several executive positions within Peugeot before the merger with FCA. He holds 15,000 shares of Stellantis.
- Henri de Castries joined the board in January 2021. He was formerly the CEO and board chair of AXA. He owns 21,000 shares of Stellantis.
- Fiona Clare Cicconi was appointed employee representative of the company's board at its founding in January 2021. She was the chief people person at Alphabet's (GOOG 1.72%)(GOOGL 1.54%) Google, and the chief human resources officer at AstraZeneca (AZN 1.41%). She owns about 11,600 shares of Stellantis.
- Nicolas Dufourcq joined the board in 2021. He's the CEO of Bpifrance (one of the company's top shareholders). He doesn't own any shares.
- Ann Frances Godbehere also joined the board at the company's founding in 2021. She has been a CFO and a non-executive director for the boards of several large natural resources companies. She owns more than 9,600 shares of Stellantis.
- Wan Ling Martello has been on the board since Stellantis's founding in 2021. She's currently a founding partner of private equity firm BayPine. She has held several executive positions at Nestle (NSRGY 0.32%). She doesn't own any shares.
- Claudia Parzani joined Stellantis' board in early 2024. She has been the chair of the Borsa Italiana since 2022 and is currently a senior advisor at Linklaters. She doesn't own any shares.
- Benoit Ribadeau Dumas joined the board in 2023. He's a managing director at Exor, which is one of the company's leading shareholders. He has also served in the French government and has been an executive at several aerospace companies. He doesn't own any shares.
- Jacques de Saint-Exupéry joined the board in 2021. He held several roles at Peugeot, including positions in the corporate finance and treasury department. He holds 1,000 shares of Stellantis.
Related investing topics
How to invest
How to invest in Jeep?
You can't invest directly in Jeep because it's a subsidiary of Stellantis. However, you can invest in the global gas-powered and electric car manufacturer. The public company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker STLA, so anyone with a brokerage account can buy the car stock.
If you don't have a brokerage account yet, they're easy to open. Here's a list of the top-rated brokerage and stock trading accounts. Make sure you research the brokers to find the best one for you.
Opening and funding a brokerage account is the first step to learning how to invest money. Additional steps you'll need to take include:
- Figure out your budget: You'll want to decide how much you want to invest in Stellantis stock. The Motley Fool investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio with at least 25 stocks. So, if you have $10,000 you want to invest, you'd allocate about $400 equally across 25 stocks, including Jeep owner Stellantis.
- Do your research: It's imperative to research a company thoroughly before you buy shares. You should check out its competitors, learn about its balance sheet, and investigate its profitability. Specific to Stellantis, you must thoroughly understand how to invest in automotive stocks.
- Fill out your order page: When you're ready to buy shares, you'll open the order page at your brokerage account and fill out all the relevant information, including:
- The number of shares you want to buy (or the amount you want to invest in fractional shares)
- The correct stock ticker (STLA for Stellantis)
- The order type (market or limit order)
Make sure to double-check your order page before submitting your trade. When you're ready, click submit to become a shareholder of Jeep's owner, Stellantis.
FAQ
Who owns Jeep: FAQ
Who is the current owner of Jeep?
Stellantis owns the Jeep brand. It acquired Jeep when Fiat Chrysler Automotive (which owned the Jeep brand) merged with Peugeot in 2021 to form Stellantis. Jeep is one of several auto brands owned by the multinational automaker.
Who bought Jeep from Chrysler?
Chrysler originally bought the Jeep brand when it purchased American Motor Company in the late 1980s. Italian automaker Fiat bought full control of Chrysler (which owned Jeep) in 2014, forming Fiat Chrysler Automotive. A few years later, that company agreed to merge with Peugeot, forming Stellantis in 2021. Stellantis now owns Chrysler and its brands, including Jeep.
Are Jeeps American-made?
Jeep is an American automaker owned by a multinational corporation (Stellantis). Most Jeeps are manufactured in the U.S., primarily with auto parts made in the U.S. (70%).
When did Fiat buy Jeep?
Italian automaker Fiat acquired the remaining shares of Chrysler (which owned Jeep) that it didn't already own in 2014 to form Fiat Chrysler Automotive. That company agreed to merge with Peugeot a few years later. The combined company, now called Stellantis, owns Jeep and several other auto brands.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Matt DiLallo has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc, Exor, Nestlé, and Stellantis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
