AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/06 Report--

Stellantis China said on Weibo that Guangqi Fiat Chrysler Automobile Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Auto Fiat Chrysler Automobile sales Co., Ltd. (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "joint venture") filed for bankruptcy with the court at the end of 2022 and the application has been accepted by the court. For the Jeep brand domestic vehicles produced and sold locally by the joint venture company ("domestic Jeep"), Fiat brand domestic vehicles ("domestic Fiat") and imported Fiat brand vehicles sold by the joint venture company ("imported Fiat"), the joint venture company is no longer able to guarantee the daily maintenance and after-sales service of the above-mentioned vehicles. In order to enable the above car owners to continue to enjoy high-quality after-sales service, Stellantis China has decided to provide maintenance and after-sales service for the above vehicles starting from today. "

On July 18, 2022, Stellantis Group announced that due to the lack of progress in the previously announced plan for Stellantis Group to acquire a majority stake in Guangzhou Auto Fick, a joint venture with GAC GROUP, Stellantis Group 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. Subsequently, GAC GROUP also issued a notice saying that 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.

The statements of both sides directly sentenced Guangqi Feike to "death", which, though somewhat sudden, was also expected. Since February 2022, GAC Fick has basically been in a state of "shutdown", with production and sales data from "35" to "1" and then to "-". For Guangzhou Auto Fick, such an outcome is really a pity. Of course, for Jeep, it may be more of a relief. Two domestic experiences have come to the same end.

Fiat Group is a famous Italian carmaker, founded in 1899, its brands include Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and so on. In April 1999, Nanjing Fiat was established and Fiat entered China in the form of a joint venture for the first time. In December 2007, Fiat Group and NAC Group terminated their cooperation.

In 2007, Jeep entered the Chinese market by way of import, and successively introduced two heavyweight models, the Grand Cherokee and Commander. In March 2010, Fiat Group and GAC GROUP jointly established Guangzhou Auto Fiat Automobile Co., Ltd., the first domestic model Fixiang officially launched in September 2012, the official guiding price is 10.88-158800 yuan. Since then, GAC Fiat has successively made domestic Zhiyue models and other models, while selling Fiat brand classic imported models, including Fiat 500 and Fiyue.

In January 2014, Fiat and Chrysler merged to form the Fiat Chrysler Group, making it the seventh largest automaker in the world. In January 2015, GAC Fiat Automobile Co., Ltd. changed its name to Guangzhou Auto Fiat Chrysler Co., Ltd. In November 2015, the first domestic model of Jeep was officially launched, and Free Light became the new domestic name of the new Cherokee (Cherokee), with a price ranging from 229800 yuan to 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 per cent year-on-year to 222300 in 2017, accounting for more than 10 per cent of GAC GROUP's sales, the highest since its inception.

Guangzhou Auto Fick's sales performance has not been optimistic since 2018, basically going from bad to worse, and finally Fiat announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market, leaving only the Jeep brand to develop independently. According to the data, sales from 2018 to 2021 were 125200, 73900, 40500 and 20100 respectively, falling for four consecutive years and becoming the largest decline in GAC GROUP's sales.

For a joint venture, this result is obviously very ugly, considering that when Changan Suzuki withdrew from the Chinese market, there were still 34500 vehicles sold for the whole year, while Dongfeng Renault was close to Guangzhou Auto Fick (18500).

It took Jeep five years to go from a mainstream brand that sells more than 200,000 vehicles a year to ending the joint venture and announcing its delisting. In September 2021, Stellantis Group announced the closure of Guangzhou Auto Fick plant. According to GAC GROUP's financial report, by the end of 2021, its assets totaled 8.681 billion yuan and liabilities totaled 8.678 billion yuan, making it almost insolvent.

From 2015 to now, Jeep has finally failed to survive the "seven-year itch", but how the liberated Jeep will go on in the future is still a fog. Focusing on imports is only a business model, and how to manage it well is the key.

In fact, it is also a good thing for Jeep to focus on imports and maximize benefits with minimal cost. Of course, there is still a question mark about how much feelings Jeep has left in China, which has a profound historical heritage. Now, what can Jeep rely on to regain its former glory in the imported car market?

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