NEW YORK (AFP) - US automaker Chrysler unveiled Tuesday its new name, FCA US, reflecting its subsidiary status to Italian parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Until now, the company, the smallest of the "Big Three" US automakers including General Motors and Ford Motor, was known as the Chrysler Group.

The company was gradually acquired by Milan-based Fiat after emerging in June 2009 from a US government-backed bankruptcy restructuring and bailout.

Fiat fully completed the acquisition of Chrysler in January 2014, making Fiat the seventh-largest automaker in the world by annual vehicle sales.

Fiat officially adopted its new name Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in October when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Chrysler said its name change does not affect its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, its management team or brands, including Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.

The company, founded by Walter Chrysler in 1925, employs more than 77,000 people worldwide, with 96 per cent of them based in North America.

It operates 36 manufacturing sites, including 23 in the United States, seven in Mexico and six in Canada.