AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/31 Report--

On July 31st, nominated by Stellantis Group and approved by the board of directors of Guangzhou Auto Fiat Chrysler Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangzhou Auto Fick"), Ashwani Muppasani was appointed President of Guangzhou Auto Fick, who will be fully responsible for the operation and management of the Jeep brand in China. The appointment took effect on 22 July 2021. It is understood that Muanze was stationed in Guangzhou Auto Fick by the Stellantis Group to report to Mr. Gr é goire Olivier, a member of the global executive committee of the Stellantis Group and chief operating officer in China.

According to officials, Muanze began his career in manufacturing engineering in the automotive industry, where he served as GM's vice president of procurement and supply chain in India and South Korea. He then joined OHorizons Global as executive vice president of corporate mergers and acquisitions and business recovery. From 2014 to 2019, he worked at Tyco Electronics as Vice President of Operations and quality of its Automotive Division in the Americas. In November 2019, he joined the former FCA Group as head of procurement and supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region. Muanze has working experience in many countries and in different areas of the automotive industry, including serving as head of sales and marketing.

The current market performance of Guangzhou Auto Fick is not optimistic. Data show that Guangzhou Auto Fick's cumulative car sales in 2020 was 40513, down 45.18% from the same period last year, making it GAC GROUP's biggest decline. In the first half of this year, GAC Fick's cumulative sales were 11760, down 33.09% from the same period last year, making it the only brand under GAC GROUP to decline.

The decline in sales of Guangzhou Auto Fick in 2020 was due to the epidemic, so when the domestic car market rose generally in the first half of the year, and the sales of many car companies rose sharply, GAC Fick's sales not only did not reverse, but fell sharply by more than 30%. As an once-popular joint venture brand, GAC Fick has hovered on the edge of the market.

At present, Guangzhou Auto Fick has only four models on sale, including Liberty Man, Compass, Free Light and Big Commander. However, compared with Ford and GM, FCA's Jeep brand has a lower and lower sense of existence in China, coupled with the product reputation, the sales of new cars in China have declined year after year.

On January 16, 2021, the FCA Group and the PSA Group merged to form the STELLANTIS Group with a share ratio of 50:50. According to the official website, the group owns 15 car brands, and joint ventures in China include DPCA and Guangzhou Auto Fick. According to the data, STELLANTIS Group sold 1.618 million vehicles (including joint ventures) in the first quarter, with net revenue of 37 billion euros.

On May 10th, Guangzhou Auto Fick appointed Zhu Hengli as the deputy general manager and member of the executive committee of Guangzhou Auto Fick. Zhu Hengli was stationed in Guangzhou Auto Fick from Stellantis China to report to Massimiliano Trantini, the executive committee member of Stellantis Group and president of Guangzhou Auto Fick. This is a related measure taken by Stellantis Group to the joint venture company since its establishment.

According to the data, Zhu Hengli is also a veteran of the automobile industry. his career began in Ford China in 1994. He has held a number of positions in the fields of purchasing, logistics, sales, network development and customer experience in Ford China, Changan Ford and Lincoln China. In 2018, he joined Jaguar Land Rover China and served as Executive Vice President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Business Development Department, and later served as Executive Vice President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Joint Marketing and Service Organization.

On Zhu Hengli's entry, Cai Dini, president of GAC Fick, said: "I am very glad that Mr. Zhu Hengli can join GAC Fick and be responsible for the sales and marketing business of the joint venture company. His industry experience will enhance the operational level of the entire sales and marketing team and contribute to the performance of GAC Fick."

In fact, GAC Fick faces not only the problems on the sales side, including core technology, product camp, quality reputation, etc., which are the key to the continuous decline of GAC Fick sales, while the senior management of GAC Fick in Stellantis China is also difficult to solve many problems in a short period of time.

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