Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has shot down rumors that it’s planning to sell Jeep to its Chinese partner, GAC. No less than FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne broke the news at the Detroit Auto Show, telling Autocar that FCA isn’t going to sell off its most popular brand. "We have no intention of breaking up the company or giving it to the Chinese," he said. "We have a very good partner in GAC. They have global ambitions, they want to come to the US and we're talking to them about if and how they can accomplish that. None of that is designed to impact on the independence of FCA."

Speculation surrounding FCA’s plans for Jeep took a curious turn in April 2017 when Sergio Marchionne himself indicated that Ram and Jeep are two brands that are strong enough to stand on their own. This led to speculation that Jeep could be on its way out of FCA to become its own stand-alone brand, similar to what Ferrari did in 2015. The buzz grew louder a few months later when Great Wall president Wang Fengyiang admitted that the Chinese automaker was looking to buy Jeep if there was interest on FCA’s part to sell it.

GAC’s role as FCA’s Chinese partner made it the ideal dancing buddy in the event the latter decided to sell Jeep. But the more important question is why FCA would do it in the first place. Jeep is one of the conglomerate’s strongest brands, and an argument can be made that Jeep is keeping FCA afloat in the wake of continued struggles of other brands under the umbrella. If FCA sold Jeep, it’s going to effectively give up on one of its few profitable brands. It doesn’t make sense.

Fortunately, sense and sensibilities have prevailed. Jeep is staying put with FCA. That's where it should be, and that's where it needs to be.

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