Walter Chrysler had been brought in to rescue the troubled Maxwell-Chalmers company in the early 1920s after a similar turnaround role at Willys-Overland. Production of the Chalmers automobile ended in late 1923. In January 1924, Chrysler launched the well-received Chrysler Six, designed to offer advanced engineering at an affordable price. The original model included a carburetor air filter, high-compression engine, full pressure lubrication, an oil filter, the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes (engineered largely by Chrysler with patents assigned to Lockheed), and rubber "Floating Power" engine mounts. A ridged-rim wheel that kept deflated tires from flying off was later adopted across the industry. When the corporation was formally established on 6 June 1925, the Maxwell brand was retired. Advanced engineering helped push Chrysler Corporation to second in US sales by 1936, a position maintained until 1949.
In 1928, Chrysler Corporation built out its price-tiered brand structure. Plymouth was introduced at the low end of the market, badge-engineering the Chrysler Series 50 four-cylinder model. DeSoto entered the medium-price field. Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers automobile and truck company, continuing Dodge automobiles and the Fargo truck range. By the mid-1930s, DeSoto and Dodge had traded places in the corporate hierarchy. The Imperial name, used since 1926 as the senior Chrysler model, was elevated to a separate make and division in 1955 to compete directly with Lincoln and Cadillac, creating a five-marque lineup: Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial in ascending price order. DeSoto was discontinued in 1961 after slow sales.
Chrysler Corporation introduced several technical firsts during its independent years. In 1955, working with Philco, it produced the world's first all-transistor car radio, offered as a $150 option on the 1956 Imperial. In 1957, it announced the first production electronic fuel injection, an option on 1958 models using the Bendix Electrojector system; field reliability problems led to nearly all equipped vehicles being retrofitted with carburetors. In 1960, Chrysler was the first of the Big Three to adopt unibody construction for its passenger cars, though Imperial retained body-on-frame until 1967.
The Chrysler Hemi V8 engine defined the corporation's performance identity. In 1954, Chrysler supplied its Hemi V8 exclusively to Facel Vega, a French coachbuilder producing hand-built luxury performance cars, coupled with Chrysler's PowerFlite and TorqueFlite automatic transmissions. The Hemi's exceptional power output made it a dominant force in American drag racing and stock car competition during the 1960s and 1970s, and the engine remained closely associated with Chrysler's Dodge and Plymouth performance brands.
During the 1960s, Chrysler Corporation acquired controlling interests in the French Simca, British Rootes, and Spanish Barreiros companies, merging them into Chrysler Europe in 1967. Declining profitability and the impact of the 1973 oil crisis on European consumer preferences led to the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA Peugeot Citroen in 1978 for a nominal one dollar.
The company's difficulties in the 1970s stemmed from multiple simultaneous pressures: consumer preference shifting toward smaller cars after the 1973 oil crisis, rising US import competition, and tighter government regulation of safety, fuel economy, and emissions. Quality problems with the Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare replacements for the reliable Dart and Valiant eroded customer confidence. On the verge of bankruptcy by 1979, the corporation secured $1.5 billion in US government loan guarantees under the Loan Guarantee Act, which required Chrysler to also raise $2 billion in concessions and assistance from non-federal sources. CEO Lee Iacocca, hired in 1978, restructured the company and returned it to profitability during the 1980s. In 1985, the Chrysler-Mitsubishi relationship was expanded through the creation of Diamond-Star Motors. In 1987, Chrysler acquired American Motors Corporation, gaining the profitable Jeep brand and the newly formed Eagle brand.
In 1998, Chrysler Corporation merged with Daimler-Benz to form DaimlerChrysler AG, ending its existence as an independent entity. Daimler sold its Chrysler stake to Cerberus Capital Management in 2007, after which the company operated as Chrysler LLC and then Chrysler Group LLC. Following Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed on 30 April 2009, the company emerged from restructuring on 10 June 2009. Fiat S.p.A. acquired full ownership in January 2014; Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was established in May 2014. The entity was renamed FCA US LLC in December 2014 and became part of Stellantis in January 2021.
The corporation's performance programs under the Dodge and Plymouth brands — particularly vehicles powered by the Hemi V8 — left a lasting mark on American stock car and drag racing. The Mopar parts and accessories division supplied components to racing programmes for decades. The SRT (Street and Racing Technology) performance division, established under the corporation's later owners, carries the performance heritage into the Stellantis era.
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