Jeep, Dodge and Ram make humiliating U-turn after regulators spot a big problem with TV ads
Dodge was about to run a television ad that said its cars are 'Built from the ground up in America.'
Not anymore.
Stellantis — the international parent company of Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Chrysler, which has its corporate HQ in the Netherlands — rewrote the script to several spots it was about to launch in the US.
The ads were part of a patriotic blitz called 'American Born.' They called Jeep 'America's most patriotic brand,' while providing a history lesson on the car's roots in World War II.
Meanwhile, Dodge and Ram ads said the cars were 'built' in America.
But Truth in Advertising, a consumer advocacy group, sent a warning to the company, arguing the language misrepresented how much of the manufacturing actually happens stateside.
'Stellantis has every right to boast of its brands' assembly plants in the United States that create American jobs and strengthen the US economy,' the organization wrote.
'But it cannot illegally embellish the amount of manufacturing that takes place domestically.'
The company, which has several final assembly plants in the US, changed a recent ad campaign
The Dodge Charger is one of the brand's most famous models
Claims about a product's 'made in America' bloodlines are heavily regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Per the commission's legal guidance, automakers can only say their cars are made in America if 'all or virtually all' of the parts are domestically manufactured.
Stellantis — which operates production facilities in Mexico, Canada, and Italy — shares several parts between vehicles in their lineup.
The Jeep Wagoneer, Jeep Wrangler, and Ram 1500 are some of the company's best-selling cars. They all have final assembly plants in the US.
The company pulled advertisements from YouTube and rejigged the script to say 'assembled.'
But some of the original versions have continued to air on TV channels like ESPN as the changes roll out.
Stellantis didn't respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Beyond its ad campaigns, it's been a rocky couple of months for the automaker.
The Jeep Wrangler has final assembly plants in the US
Carlos Tavares, Stellantis' former CEO, stepped away from the company in December
The company reported concerning sales trends before the Trump administration's tariff announcements
The company laid off 900 American workers right after the Trump administration enacted its 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles.
The employees, who worked at stamping and transmission lines, built parts that the company had sent to Canadian and Mexican assembly plants.
In February, the company reported its final 2024 sales numbers.
Stellantis reported a 70 percent drop in profits from the year prior.
Former CEO Carlos Tavares departed the company in December, and the company still searching for a permanent replacement.
The car company has come under attack from administration officials in the White House because of its European ownership model.
'Let's face it, it's owned by Fiat, and most of the engines that go into the cars that are assembled here are from Italy,' President Donald Trump's senior advisor on trade, Peter Navarro, said on CNN.
'I mean, that's not an American company.'
