. for its flagship car brand see chrysler brand . for other uses see chrysler disambiguation . fca us llc fca us llc u.s. headquarters and technology center in auburn hills in metro detroit trading name fiat chrysler type limited liability company industry automotive predecessor chrysler group llc 2009 2014 chrysler llc 2007 2009 daimlerchrysler ag 1998 2007 chrysler corporation 1925 1998 founded chrysler corporation june 6 1925 chrysler group llc june 10 2009 fca us llc december 16 2014 founder walter p. chrysler headquarters auburn hills michigan u.s. number of locations list of chrysler factories area served worldwide key people sergio marchionne chairman and ceo 1 products automobiles commercial vehicles automotive parts revenue us 83.06 billion 2014 2 operating income us 1.557 billion 2014 2 net income us 1.202 billion 2014 2 total assets us 49.02 billion 2014 2 total equity us 2.846 billion 2014 2 number of employees 77 817 2014 2 parent fiat chrysler automobiles 3 divisions chrysler dodge jeep ram mopar srt website fcausllc.com fca us llc also known as fiat chrysler or simply chrysler kra sl r is the american subsidiary of fiat chrysler automobiles n.v. an italian controlled automobile manufacturer registered in the netherlands with headquarters in london u.k. for tax purposes . 4 fca us is one of the big three american automobile manufacturers . fca us has its headquarters in auburn hills michigan and sells vehicles worldwide under its flagship chrysler brand as well as the dodge jeep and ram trucks . other major divisions include mopar its automotive parts and accessories division and srt its performance automobile division . the chrysler corporation was founded by walter chrysler in 1925 5 out of what remained of the maxwell motor company . chrysler greatly expanded in 1928 when mr. chrysler who at one time worked for buick acquired the fargo truck company and the dodge brothers company and began selling vehicles under those brands ; that same year it also established the plymouth and desoto automobile brands . the brand diversification efforts were inspired by mr. chrysler s time working for general motors with an emphasis on brand hierarchy . facing postwar declines in market share productivity and profitability as gm and ford were growing chrysler borrowed 250 million in 1954 from prudential to pay for expansion and updated car designs . 6 7 8 in the 1960s the company expanded into europe by taking control of french british and spanish auto companies ; chrysler europe was sold in 1978 to psa peugeot citro n for 1 . chrysler struggled through the 1970s to adapt to changing markets increased us import competition and safety and environmental regulation . the company began an engineering partnership with mitsubishi motors and began selling mitsubishi vehicles branded as dodge and plymouth in north america . by the late 1970s chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy and was saved by 1.5 billion in loan guarantees from the us government . new ceo lee iacocca was credited with returning the company to profitability in the 1980s . in 1985 diamond star motors was created further expanding the chrysler mitsubishi relationship . in 1987 chrysler acquired american motors corporation amc which brought the profitable jeep brand under the chrysler umbrella . in 1998 chrysler merged with german automaker daimler benz ag to form daimlerchrysler ; the merger proved contentious with investors and chrysler was sold to cerberus capital management and renamed chrysler llc in 2007 . like the other big three automobile manufacturers chrysler was hit hard by the automotive industry crisis of 2008 2010 . the company remained in business through a combination of negotiations with creditors filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on april 30 2009 and participating in a bailout from the u.s. government through the troubled asset relief program . on june 10 2009 chrysler emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings with the united auto workers pension fund fiat s.p.a. and the u.s. and canadian governments as principal owners . the bankruptcy resulted in chrysler defaulting on over 4 billion in debts . by may 24 2011 chrysler finished repaying its obligations to the u.s. government five years early although the cost to the american taxpayer was 1.3 billion . over the next few years fiat gradually acquired the other parties shares while removing much of the weight of the loans which carried a 21 % interest rate in a short period . on january 1 2014 fiat s.p.a announced a deal to purchase the rest of chrysler from the united auto workers retiree health trust . the deal was completed on january 21 2014 making chrysler group a subsidiary of fiat s.p.a. 4 in may 2014 fiat chrysler automobiles nv was established by merging fiat s.p.a. into the company . this was completed in august 2014 . chrysler group llc remained a subsidiary until december 15 2014 when it was renamed fca us llc to reflect the fiat chrysler merger . 9 contents 1 history 2 corporate governance 2.1 board of directors 2.2 management team 3 sales and marketing 3.1 united states sales 4 electric and hybrid vehicles 4.1 global sales 4.2 marketing 4.2.1 lifetime powertrain warranty 4.2.2 let s refuel america 4.2.3 lancia co branding 4.2.4 ram trucks 4.2.5 imported from detroit 4.2.6 half time in america 4.2.7 slogans 5 product line 5.1 mopar 5.2 fiat 5.3 chrysler uconnect 6 electric and hybrid vehicles 7 special programs 7.1 radar antennas 7.2 aircraft 7.3 missiles 7.4 space boosters 8 discontinued brands 9 see also 9.1 countries 10 notes 11 references 12 further reading 13 external links history main article history of chrysler the chrysler company was founded by walter chrysler 1875 1940 on june 6 1925 10 11 when the maxwell motor company est. 1904 was re organized into the chrysler corporation . 12 13 walter chrysler arrived at the ailing maxwell chalmers company in the early 1920s . he was hired to overhaul the company s troubled operations after a similar rescue job at the willys overland car company . 14 in late 1923 production of the chalmers automobile was ended . 15 in january 1924 walter chrysler launched the well received chrysler automobile . the chrysler was a 6 cylinder automobile designed to provide customers with an advanced well engineered car but at a more affordable price than they might expect . elements of this car are traceable to a prototype which had been under development at willys during chrysler s tenure . 16 the original 1924 chrysler included a carburetor air filter high compression engine full pressure lubrication and an oil filter features absent from most autos at the time . 17 18 among the innovations in its early years were the first practical mass produced four wheel hydraulic brakes a system nearly completely engineered by chrysler with patents assigned to lockheed and rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration . chrysler also developed a wheel with a ridged rim designed to keep a deflated tire from flying off the wheel . this wheel was eventually adopted by the auto industry worldwide . following the introduction of the chrysler the maxwell brand was dropped after the 1925 model year . the new lower priced four cylinder chryslers introduced for the 1926 year were badge engineered maxwells . 19 the advanced engineering and testing that went into chrysler corporation cars helped to push the company to the second place position in u.s. sales by 1936 a position it would last hold in 1949 . in 1928 the chrysler corporation began dividing its vehicle offerings by price class and function . the plymouth brand was introduced at the low priced end of the market created essentially by once again reworking and rebadging chrysler s four cylinder model . 20 at the same time the desoto brand was introduced in the medium price field . also in 1928 chrysler bought the dodge brothers 21 automobile and truck company and continued the successful dodge line of automobiles and fargo range of trucks . by the mid 1930s the desoto and dodge divisions would trade places in the corporate hierarchy . 1955 imperial car model shown on display at january 1955 chicago auto show the imperial name had been used since 1926 but was never a separate make just the top of the line chrysler . in 1955 the company decided to spin it off as its own make and division to better compete with its rivals lincoln and cadillac . 1955 chrysler philco all transistor car radio breaking news radio broadcast announcement on april 28 1955 chrysler and philco had announced the development and production of the world s first all transistor car radio . 22 the all transistor car radio mopar model 914hr was developed and produced by chrysler and philco and was an 150.00 option on the 1956 imperial car models . philco was the company who had manufactured the all transistor car radio mopar model 914hr starting in the fall of 1955 at its sandusky ohio plant for the chrysler corporation . 23 24 25 on september 28 1957 chrysler had announced the first production electronic fuel injection efi as an option on some of its new 1958 car models chrysler 300d dodge d500 desoto adventurer plymouth fury . the first attempt to use this system was by american motors on the 1957 rambler rebel . 26 27 bendix corporation s electrojector used a transistor computer brain modulator box but teething problems on pre production cars meant very few cars were made . 28 the efi system in the rambler ran fine in warm weather but suffered hard starting in cooler temperatures and amc decided not to use this efi system on its 1957 rambler rebel production cars that were sold to the public . 27 chrysler also used the bendix electrojector fuel injection system and only around 35 vehicles were built with this option on its 1958 production built car models . 29 30 owners of efi chryslers were so dissatisfied that all but one were retrofitted with carburetors while that one has been completely restored with original efi electronic problems resolved . 30 imperial would see new body styles introduced every two to three years all with v8 engines and automatic transmissions as well as technologies that would filter down to chrysler corporation s other models . imperial was folded back into the chrysler brand in 1971 . the valiant was also introduced for 1960 as a distinct brand . in the u.s. market valiant was made a model in the plymouth line for 1961 and the desoto make was discontinued during 1961 . with those exceptions per applicable year and market chrysler s range from lowest to highest price from the 1940s through the 1970s was valiant plymouth dodge desoto chrysler and imperial . 31 from 1963 through 1969 chrysler increased its existing stakes to take full control of the french simca british rootes and spanish barreiros companies merging them into chrysler europe in 1967 . in the 1970s an engineering partnership was established with mitsubishi motors and began selling mitsubishi vehicles branded as dodge and plymouth in north america . chrysler struggled to adapt to the changing environment of the 1970s . when consumer tastes shifted to smaller cars in the early 1970s particularly after the 1973 oil crisis chrysler could not meet the demand . additional burdens came from increased us import competition and tougher government regulation of car safety fuel economy and emissions . as the smallest of the big 3 us automakers chrysler lacked the financial resources to meet all of these challenges . in 1978 lee iacocca was brought in to turn the company around and in 1979 iacocca sought us government help . congress later passed the loan guarantee act providing 1.5 billion in loan guarantees . 32 the loan guarantee act required that chrysler also obtain 2 billion in concessions or aid from sources outside the federal government which included interest rate reductions for