FCA hoarding
FCA hoardingFCA Media

It looks like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne's one-word 'yes' answer is going to create ripples in the automotive world. During a press briefing last week to discuss FCA's financial earnings in the first quarter of 2017, Marchionne hinted at spinning off Jeep and Ram brands just like Ferrari.

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During the meeting, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas asked "Jeep and Ram ... are these businesses large enough, let's say together or separately, strong enough, independent enough to exist as a stand-alone entity outside of FCA, like Ferrari?". Marchionne response was just "yes," reported CNBC. There was no follow-up question on the topic and hence it is hard to know whether Marchionne is seriously considering the idea.

In addition, Jeep is one of the iconic brands under FCA umbrella and a major brand contributing to total revenue of the group. Having said that, Marchionne's words cannot be taken lightly. FCA has the history of spinning off Ferrari luxury brand in 2015. Ferrari had turned into an independent brand in which 10 percent of stake was sold in an IPO in 2015. After releasing Ferrari, the values of both the auto-makers have continued to rise. The combined market cap of FCA and Ferrari, after the split, is now nearly $31 billion from $21 billion.

2017 Jeep Compass
2017 Jeep CompassJeep

FCA sold more than 1.4 million Jeeps worldwide last year, roughly four times more than from 2009 when Marchionne took charge via Fiat's acquisition of Chrysler. Ram trucks have also seen significant growth under the stewardship of Marchionne with sales jumping more than 200 percent since 2009.

Morgan Stanley analysts calculate that the Jeep brand is worth around $22 billion, while Ram is valued at $11.2 billion.