Jeep, an American vehicle brand, specializes in the production of all-terrain automobiles. The term Jeep was used for the first time to describe a vehicle manufactured in 1941 by the Willys-Overland Motors company, at the express request of the United States Army, to provide a means of mobility adaptable to any terrain, to the American troops that were in the combat front of the Second World War. The terminology arose from the English phonetics of the acronym “GP” (yi-pi), which was the acronym of the English term General Purpose with which this type of product was called. Other versions attributed this name to a comparison made with a character from the “Popeye” comic called “Eugene the Jeep”, which possessed mystical powers and gave rise to popular ingenuity, comparing the powers of the character with the performance of the GP.

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This vehicle continued in production under the wing of the Willys brand until 1963, when after the purchase of Willys by Kaiser Motors, the latter company elevated the nomenclature “Jeep” to the rank of automobile brand, replacing Willys. From there, the renowned Jeep went on to produce all kinds of all-terrain vehicles, becoming part of the American Motors Corporation in 1970.

After the purchase in 1987 of the American Motors Corporation by Chrysler Corporation, the Jeep brand was the last vestige of the ex-AMC, since its production was supported by Chrysler, to the detriment of brands such as AMC or Rambler. Following the takeover of Chrysler by Daimler AG, Jeep integrated the purchase and also the sales package after Daimler sold Chrysler to the Cerberus financial group. Finally, with Fiat’s acquisition of Chrysler in 2009, Jeep has since then been part of the FCA US subgroup, which also includes Chrysler, Dodge, Ram Trucks and SRT.

Its headquarters are located in the city of Toledo, Ohio, having as its main production line the historic plant where previously operated its predecessor, the Willys-Overland Motors.