Some time ago, Stellantis announced a plan to take a majority share of its joint venture with GAC. This apparently did not move forward, and Stellantis is ending the joint venture—resulting in a 300-million-euro charge against its balance sheet—and going it alone.
The joint venture to make Jeeps in China was created in 2010, under Fiat leadership; it has lost money in recent years.
For the moment, Stellantis will import an “electrified line-up of imported Jeep vehicles” sold through experienced Chinese dealers. The company did not mention where they would be made, but Jeeps are made in Italy, India, Brazil, and of course the United States, which is still the brand’s largest producer. Stellantis uses the term “electrified” to refer to both hybrids and BEVs. The dropping euro, which recently hit parity with the U.S. dollar, could make exports from Italy more profitable.
The press release called the new approach “asset-light,” and gave no other details.
David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest Mopar site (Allpar) in 1994. After a chemo-induced 2007-2010 break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales (Chrysler history and “permanent” car and truck pages). He most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the marque.
Discover more from Stellpower - that Mopar news site
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.