AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)07/28 Report--

On July 27th, GAC GROUP announced that he planned to extend the RMB 250 million entrusted loan to GAC Fiat Chrysler, a joint venture company, until December 31, 2022.

On July 18th, Stellantis Group announced: "Stellantis will adopt a light asset approach to develop the Jeep brand in China, and negotiate with GAC GROUP to terminate the local joint venture. Since then, the Stellantis Group will focus on the distribution of imported Jeep-branded cars in China. " On the same day, GAC GROUP responded: "Guangzhou Auto Fick has been losing money in recent years and has been unable to resume normal production and operation since February this year. GAC GROUP and Stellantis are negotiating to terminate the joint venture in an orderly manner, and will properly handle matters related to the joint venture in accordance with the law and regulations.

Judging from the statements of both shareholders, the delisting of GAC Fick is a foregone conclusion, but related matters are still under further negotiation, including the disposal of the factory. It is understood that Guangzhou Auto Fick has two major vehicle production bases, Changsha factory and Guangzhou factory, with an overall design capacity of 328000 vehicles, of which Changsha factory mainly produces free light, big commander, Guangzhou factory mainly produces free man and compass. In September 2021, Stellantis announced the closure of Guangzhou Auto Fick plant, which was taken over by GAC Ean and used to produce pure electric models. According to the latest report of the Financial Associated Press, BYD, Zero and other car companies are discussing with GAC GROUP the possibility of taking over the GAC Fick Changsha plant, of which Zero has denied taking over the GAC Fick Changsha plant, while BYD has yet to respond.

According to the data, "Guangzhou Automobile Fiat Chrysler Co., Ltd." (referred to as "Guangzhou Automobile Yafite"), formerly known as "Guangzhou Automobile Yafite Automobile Co., Ltd." (referred to as "Guangzhou Automobile Fick"), the company was established in March 2010. it was jointly funded by Fiat Group and GAC GROUP with a share ratio of 50:50, and then GAC Yafite successively made Fiat brand models such as Feixiang and Zhiyue. Fiat Group acquired Chrysler Group and changed its name to Fiat Chrysler Group in January 2014. as a result, "Guangzhou Automobile Fiat" was renamed "Guangzhou Auto Fick". The first model of the Jeep brand, "Free Light", was launched in November 2015. the price is 229800-315800 yuan. Since then, Jeep has successively expanded the product camp, such as domestic Freedom Man, Guide, Big Commander and so on. According to the data, GAC Fick sold 179900 vehicles in 2016, up 23.57% from the same period last year to 222300 vehicles in 2017, the highest since its inception.

When Fiat announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market in 2018, GAC Fick, which had only Jeep, had an increasingly difficult life, with sales of 125200 vehicles, 73900 vehicles, 40500 vehicles and 20100 vehicles respectively from 2018 to 2021, a decline for four consecutive years. The latest figures show that GAC Fick sold only 1861 vehicles and produced only 822 vehicles in the first half of 2022.

With the intensification of market stock competition, more and more automobile brands begin to fade out of view, including Southeast Mitsubishi, Changan Suzuki, Dongfeng Renault, Changan DS and so on. However, everything has its cause and effect, and the outcome of GAC Fick is not unexpected. According to GAC GROUP, GAC Fick's operating income in the first half of the year was 588 million yuan, compared with 3.861 billion yuan in 2021, with a net loss of 649 million yuan, compared with a net loss of 3.169 billion yuan in 2021. As of June 30, 2022, GAC Fick has total assets of 7.657 billion yuan, total liabilities of 8.186 billion yuan, and an asset-liability ratio of 107%, which means that GAC Fick has long been insolvent.

As mentioned above, Guangzhou Auto Fick is doomed to stop local production, and the delisting of Guangzhou Auto Fick means that all previous models launched by the company will no longer be produced, including Free Light, Liberty Man, Compass, Big Commander and so on. According to the latest report, Jeep will launch a new Freedom Man in China this year. The car will no longer be produced by Guangzhou Auto Fick, but will return to China as an import.

The new Liberty Man introduced in the way of import is basically the same as the Liberty Man currently on sale, and it is not a brand-new replacement model. From the official picture, the new Liberty Man still uses Jeep's iconic seven-hole front grille, with the redesigned headlights on both sides, the overall visual effect is still strong. However, according to the comparison of all aspects of product strength, even if Liberty Man returns to China by way of import, it is unlikely that many consumers will pay for it.

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