GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Ltd.
Native name
广汽菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车有限公司
FormerlyGAC Fiat Automobiles Co., Ltd.
TypeJoint venture
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedMarch 9, 2010 (2010-03-09)
Defunct2022 (2022)
FateBankrupt
Headquarters
Changsha
,
China
Area served
China
Key people
Zheng Xiancong (president)[1]
Jack Cheng (managing director)[2]
ProductsAutomobiles
OwnersGAC Group (50%)
Stellantis (50%)[3]
Websitegacfiatauto.com
GAC Fiat Chrysler
Simplified Chinese广汽菲亚特克莱斯勒
Traditional Chinese廣汽菲亞特克萊斯勒
GAC FCA
Simplified Chinese广汽菲克
Traditional Chinese廣汽菲克

GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Ltd. was an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Changsha, China. It was a 50:50 joint-venture between the GAC Group and Stellantis. The company was founded on 9 March 2010.[3] Fiat agreed to invest an initial US$559 million in the venture.[4]

History

Fiat and GAC signed a joint venture agreement in Rome on 6 July 2009, in the presence of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.[4] Construction of GAC Fiat facilities in Changsha began on 26 November 2009, with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by the Italian ambassador to China, the provincial leaders of Hunan and Guangdong, and city leaders of Changsha and Guangzhou.[5] GAC Fiat Automobiles Co., Ltd. was incorporated on 9 March 2010.[3]

The Changsha assembly plant was officially opened on 28 June 2012, in a ceremony attended by Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne and representatives of Hunan and Guandong provinces.[6]

In January 2013, it was announced that GAC Fiat would be also expanded to include Chrysler, and that, GAC Fiat would construct a new assembly plant in Guangzhou for the production of Jeep products.[7][8]

In January 2015, GAC Fiat was renamed as GAC Fiat Chrysler.[9]

In January 2022, Stellantis announced a plan to take a 75% majority stake of the joint venture.[10] GAC quickly responded that no formal agreement to change the joint venture had been signed.[11] In July, Stellantis announced that due to a lack of progress in its attempt to take a greater stake in the company, it was terminating the joint venture with GAC. Stellantis planned to shut down local production operations and move towards importing Jeep vehicles to the Chinese market.[12] Later that year, the joint venture filed for bankruptcy.[13][14]

Operations

GAC Fiat had facilities in Changsha, with an annual production capacity of 140,000 cars and 220,000 engines, covering around 700,000 m2.[5] Vehicle production began in June 2012, with the Fiat Viaggio four-door sedan.[3][15][16] Later, the company started to manufacture the Ottimo (the hatchback version of the Viaggio).[17] In October 2013, GAC Fiat announced the construction of a second manufacturing plant in Guangzhou.[18] In November 2014, Fiat Chrysler and GAC expanded their partnership to produce Jeep vehicles.[17] The Changsha plant began assembling the Jeep Cherokee in October 2015 and the Guangzhou plant began assembling the Jeep Renegade in April 2016.[19] In late 2016, the Guangzhou plant began assembling the Jeep Compass. In 2018, the Changsha plant began manufacturing the Jeep Grand Commander.[20]

Former production

Sales figures

By year

Year Fiat[22] Jeep[23] Combined
2012 11,288 0 11,288
2013 48,375 0 48,375
2014 68,090 0 68,090
2015 31,481 8,005 39,486
2016 12,699 133,009 145,708
2017 2,273 202,755 205,028
2018 269 124,514 124,783
2019 23 72,956 72,979
2020 0 40,659 40,659
2021 0 20,357 20,357
Total 174,498 602,255 776,753

By model

References

  1. ↑ "GAC-Fiat: No plan to launch Chrysler brand any time soon". China Automotive Review. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "New venture formed for Fiat's second act". China Daily. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Company Profile". GAC Fiat Automobiles Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Fiat Focuses on China". Bloomberg Businessweek. 7 July 2009. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 "GAC-Fiat ceremony heralds joint venture". China Daily. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Fiat opens new Chinese plant to produce Viaggio". Straits Times. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Fiat-Chrysler, Guangzhou ink Jeep deal". The Detroit News. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Fiat, Chrysler to produce Jeep in China: paper". Reuters. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "To create a brighter future with soaring aspirations, GAC Group participated in the 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition" (Press release). GAC. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2019 – via automotiveworld.com.
  10. ↑ "Stellantis Plans to Take Majority Share in Joint Venture with GAC in China | Stellantis". www.stellantis.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  11. ↑ Doll, Scooter (2022-08-02). "GAC calls out Stellantis CEO for 'lack of respect' toward Chinese customers amid failed Jeep joint venture". Electrek. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  12. ↑ "Stellantis Implements Asset-light Approach to Grow Jeep® Brand in China and Negotiates Termination of Local Joint Venture with GAC Group". www.media.stellantis.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  13. ↑ "Stellantis Jeep joint venture in China to file for bankruptcy". Reuters. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  14. ↑ 负债81亿元，广汽菲克破产申请获法院受理 [With a debt of 8.1 billion yuan, the bankruptcy application of GAC FCA was accepted by the court]. The Paper (in Chinese (China)). 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  15. ↑ "Fiat unveils new Viaggio model to be made and sold in China". Reuters. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "GAC Fiat Chrysler". Chinaautoweb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Fiat Chrysler deepens China partnership to help Jeep". Automotive News Europe. Crain Communications. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  18. ↑ "Fiat's China JV to build second plant to produce SUVs, EVs, report says". Automotive News Europe. Crain Communications. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "First Chinese-Built Jeep Renegade Rolls Off Production Line in Guangzhou". The Wheels Network. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  20. ↑ "FCA, GAC launch Jeep Commander output in Changsha". Automotive News China. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  21. 1 2 "Fiat: stop alla produzione di Viaggio e Ottimo in Cina". Investireoggi.it. March 27, 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  22. ↑ "Fiat China sales figures". Car Sales Base. 26 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "Jeep China sales figures". Car Sales Base. 12 December 2015.
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