Jeep’s Chinese Joint Venture Now Officially Dead

One of the primary routes established automakers have followed to get into the Chinese market has been joint-ventures with local companies. Before it became Stellantis, Fiat-Chrylser was no different, and it collaborated with GAC more than a decade ago, which led to the construction of a Jeep factory. In recent years, the venture started falling apart, and this week, whatever remained of GAC-FCA was truly laid to rest. Reuters reported that the Chinese government officially recognized the bankruptcy this week. It’s the decision that the companies have been waiting for after a couple of years, as FCA had already shut down the plant in 2022, and GAC-FCA filed for bankruptcy later that year.

GAC-FCA Had Nearly A Decade Of Jeep Production

The connection between GAC and FCA came about because of Fiat, which began working with GAC before Fiat-Chrysler was formed. A few years after the merger, in 2014, production of Jeeps began at a new factory that GAC constructed. An existing plant was already building Fiats. The Jeep factory built quite a variety of models, including the Compass, Renegade, Cherokee, and Grand Commander, all just for the Chinese market. The last of those was a unique model for China, and was basically a stretched and restyled version of the Cherokee. Notably, it featured three rows of seats, a feature missing from the Jeep line-up since the departure of the Grand Cherokee-based Commander. That SUV appeared in 2018 following a preview with the Yuntu concept in 2017.

How It Ended

As we already touched on, the factory closed in 2022. It happened under the watch of former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who had a whole slew of reasons for the shutdown. He pointed to the joint venture not being successful enough, slowing sales of Jeep and other Western vehicles in China, as well as growing political concerns such as the potential for increasing Chinese government interference and growing tensions between the US and China. This wasn’t the end of Jeep in China, though, and now the company exports all its vehicles to the market. Today, Jeep sells just three models in China: the Wrangler, Wrangler 4xe, Gladiator, and Grand Cherokee 4xe.

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Stellantis Still Has A Chinese Connection

While Stellantis isn’t working closely with GAC anymore, it still has a Chinese partner. In 2023, Stellantis announced it would purchase 20% of Chinese automaker Leapmotor, and the two companies would form a joint-venture split 51 to 49 in favor of Stellantis. Leapmotor is one of many Chinese automakers that has been developing electric technology, so that gives Stellantis some access to their expertise. The partnership has also allowed Leapmotor to start selling cars in Europe, and given Stellantis a particularly affordable electric brand in the region. Neither company has said much about Leapmotor appearing in America anytime soon, though Tavares had once floated the idea of building Leapmotors in America. It is interesting that Stellantis has given Leapmotor an opening in a major western market considering how GAC seemed so determined to do the same. GAC actually had stands at the North American International Auto Show for multiple years, and even advertisements in the airport tram at the Detroit airport. Of course, it never managed to break into the American market, and it also has yet to start operating in Europe.

Source: Reuters