(Yicai Global) Aug. 22 -- Several Chinese carmakers recently denied they plan to acquire multinational car company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV [NYSE:FCAU] (FCA).

In the latest twist, private Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co. [HK:2333] (Great Wall) confirmed its intention to take over FCA's Jeep brand this week, but Netherlands-based FCA refuted this claim within 24 hours.

Great Wall has not contacted it about an acquisition of the Jeep brand or other related matters, FCA stated yesterday.

Great Wall is interested in buying Jeep, and is "connecting with FCA" to begin negotiations, Wang Fengying, Great Wall's president, wrote in an email. Yet no takeover offer has been made, and no official negotiations with FCA's board of directors have even started.

"We do intend to acquire the Jeep brand, and will continue to monitor the situation," Zhao Lijia, public relations manager at GWM, told Yicai Global yesterday.

FCA currently owns Italian brands Fiat and Maserati and several other US car makes, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. FCA may spin off Jeep in future, its chief executive Sergio Marchionne said publicly in April. An acquisition of Jeep by Great Wall will detach the US brand from the FCA framework.