A history written in factories, battlefields, and two-lane highways.

Willys-Overland Motors was founded in 1908 in Toledo, Ohio. By 1912, it was the second-largest automaker in the United States, behind only Ford. Before the Depression, before the interstate system, before anyone had thought to call it "sport utility" — Willys was putting America on the road.
Then came the war that changed everything.

1908 — FOUNDED

John North Willys acquires the Overland Automotive Division and founds Willys-Overland Motors in Toledo, Ohio. Within four years, it becomes the second-largest automaker in America.

1941 — THE JEEP

Willys wins the U.S. Army contract to produce the Willys MB — the original Jeep. Over 360,000 units are built for Allied forces. General Eisenhower later calls it "one of the three tools that won the war."

1949 — THE FIRST SUV

Willys-Overland releases the Utility Wagon 4×4 — the first steel-bodied, four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle in production history. Decades before the term existed, Willys had invented the SUV.

TODAY — THE LEGACY CONTINUES

Willys-Overland Motors LLC carries the heritage forward from Dover, Delaware — through licensed products, storytelling, and gear built for people who remember what came first.

The SUV Wasn't Invented in the 1990s. It Was Invented in 1949.

For decades, the Willys-Overland name lived quietly in the collector community, restored garages, and the memories of people whose grandfathers drove them home from the war. We think the story deserves more than that.

Willys-Overland Motors LLC was formed in Delaware to carry the heritage forward — responsibly, independently, and on our own terms. We don't make vehicles. We make the gear that tells the story. And we make it for the people who already know it.