Chrysler denies plans to sell Jeep brand.

Amid renewed rumors of Chrysler potentially shopping the Jeep Brand to Renault, Chrysler Vice Chairman and President Tom LaSorda has publicly denied any possible sale.

From the Chrysler Media Site:

Chrysler Vice Chairman and President Tom LaSorda on Wednesday strongly denied reports and rumors that the company is in discussions to sell its Jeep brand, any manufacturing plants or the tooling for an existing vehicle.

“What was reported that we’re in discussions to sell the Jeep brand is absolutely false,” Lasorda told reporters on a conference call Wednesday morning.. “We will not separate the brands from the company.”

He said that the company has said for more than a year that it will sell non-earning assets, or assets that “may be coming due.” Chrysler has had discussions about selling the tooling of previous generation vehicles, or vehicles that are discontinued. But reports that the company would sell one of its manufacturing plants are untrue, and don’t make any sense.

“If we were to sell any assets, and if you looked at the loan agreement, the loan agreement would not allow us to do that without going through the ‘car czar’,” he added.

LaSorda also addressed rumors regarding deals with specific companies, such as Magna International Inc. or the automotive partners Nissan and Renault.

Chrysler not looking for a merger, but will need partnerships.

According to the Detroit Free Press, merger talks with GM are off.  Federal loans have them continuing operations, for now.

Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Officer Bob Nardelli said the automaker is not looking for a buyer or a merger partner, and the company is working on getting another $3 billion in loans from the federal government.

The additional loans would be part of the $7 billion that Chrysler told Congress it needs to keep itself in business through 2012.

When asked if the company is looking for an acquisition or a merger, Nardelli said, “We don’t think we need that. There are no merger discussions on the table.”…

…Nardelli stressed that the automaker is looking for alliances, similar to its deal with Volkswagen to build minivans for the German automaker and with Nissan to build a pickup. Nissan plans to build a small car for Chrysler.

“We’re looking for global partnerships where we share to win,” he said.

That’s despite skepticism throughout the industry that Chrysler needs a buyer or merger partner to make it through the year and ultimately to produce the lineup of electric-drive concepts the company featured at the North American International Auto Show on Sunday.

Read the article in it’s entirety here.