It's the official end of an ambitious project launched nearly fifteen years ago: the court in Changsha, Hunan province, has declared the Gac-Fiat Chrysler joint venture bankrupt, putting a definitive end to the industrial presence of Stellantis via this entity in China.
This joint venture, created in 2011 at the instigation of Sergio Marchionne, was to enable Fiat Chrysler to conquer the world's largest automobile market alongside Chinese giant GAC Group. At the time, the ambitions were immense: 17 billion yuan in investment (around 2.3 billion euros), two plants in Guangzhou and Changsha, a capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year, and a range adapted to local tastes, including Jeep Renegade, Compass, Cherokee and the Fiat Viaggio and Ottimo.
But after a sales peak in 2017 (over 200,000 units), the descent into hell was swift. Unable to keep up with the Chinese market, dominated by new technologies and electrified vehicles, Gac-FCA remained focused on thermal models that were increasingly unattractive to Chinese consumers.
In 2022, the company entered restructuring proceedings. Since then, no attempt has been made to sell assets: five public auctions have remained empty, despite the sale of land, equipment and two factories. The result: liabilities of over 8.1 billion yuan (approx. $1.1 billion), including 4 billion in undisputed debts, against assets estimated at just 1.9 billion. In the absence of an agreement with creditors, the court declared the company liquidated.
This failure also symbolizes the inability of Stellantis, like other Western manufacturers, to adapt to China's electric revolution, led by ultra-competitive local brands. Converting sites from fossil-fired to electric power would have required colossal investments that no investor was willing to make.
The geopolitical context and deteriorating relations between Stellantis and GAC have not helped matters. After the FCA-PSA merger, Carlos Tavares had tried to regain control of the joint venture, but GAC had opposed him, denouncing what it considered unsuitable governance and a regulatory climate unfavorable to foreign groups.
With this bankruptcy, Stellantis definitively turns the page on a part of the Asian strategy inherited from Marchionne. A page fraught with symbolism... and a billion-dollar liability to wipe out.
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Not surprising for STELLANTIS, which doesn't know how and doesn't have the ambition. 140 days of unexplained breakdowns on my electric JEEP AVENGER are proof of that.
petrol or diesel jeeps work well 🤣
Totally agree. This is what happens when you build garbage and try to rort customers. Good riddance to bad products I say.
Western industry is just pathetic. They didn't see it coming.
Kann man keine verantwortlich machen sind die alleine vor Ort verantwortlich man weiß natürlich nicht was da war um die Marke stellantis sich dort zu schulden kommen ließ da sind die Chinesen sehr eigen einmal falsch abgebogen und nix geht mehr
And this is just the beginning, Peugeot should change the lion for a hyena, it's more in the spirit of the brand today.
Die sind wie Nokia...
No es que sea patética, es inasumible competir con normas de mercado diferentes y condiciones laborales diferentes,ya en el apartado de desarrollo e investigación superamos a china. Muchos ( la mayoría) de los avances tecnológicos chinos son desarrollados en otras latitudes.pero la norma de manorna y la burocracia nos impiden ser competitivos ....y ahí nos quedamos
Too shallow an explanation...
Creo que no te das cuenta de que europa y los europeos y su industria, están en franco deterioro.
Difiero mucho en lo que dices.
China, al haber muchos chinos(por número de personas) hay más Ingenieros dedicados a nuevas tecnologías, que europeos. Así de simple. Por eso es que China con sus autos y motos, están arrasando en el mundo. Hay productos malos, como en todos lados, pero sus normas de construcción y manufactura compiten de tú a tú, a nivel mundial. Lee más, y te darás cuenta de eso.
Of course it has absolutely nothing at all to do with the massive amounts of money the Chinese government pumps into the car industry in china to make the vehicles cheap on the international market
Its The Ceo of Stellantis extreme cost cutting tactics getting rid of whole Quality Control Departments while Simultaneously Raising Prices the Wagoneer is 100k Plus and MANY of them have a Serious Full Range of Issues it Should be Criminal
We used to doubt the reliability of Chinese cars, but when we see the catastrophic reliability of Stellantis cars, we can expect more disasters in Europe!
売れないクルマを造っても意味がない。売れるクルマを造りましょうね。
Sehen Sie auch den Niedergang der chinesischen Autoindustrie voraus , wer kann diese Technik reparieren , in Europa tut sich das niemand an, also die Europäer werden wieder kommen das ist sicher , übrig bleiben die verdutzten Kunden.
そもそも中国を信用したり、中国に何かを期待する事自体、その時点で失敗である。
Man sollte einfach diesen Schwachsinn mit Elektrofahrzeugen aufgeben und sich mehr auf Wasserstoff konzentrieren.Das sollten alle Europäischen Autohersteller machen.Dann können die Chinesen ihre Bügeleisen alleine fahren.
Why so defensive n maintaining such a loser mentality? When Germany was once raking in billions for decades from the Chinese market, I don't see you whining n complaining. Go improve n compete!
Ihr Großvater wollte auch sei zuverlässiges Pferd weiter reiten und die stinkende unzuverlässige Automobile schnell vergessen.
Bildung hätte diese Aussage ganz klar verhindert. Die Energieeffizient von Wasserstoff ist eine pure Katastrophe.
Stellantis' biggest problem IMHO is that, for years, it has had lots of business plans, but mostly crap product. Success in the Auto business starts with the product.
Of Course it Does!
Agreed!
Chrysler has produced garbage for decades, perpetuated by poor management and ownership. They are just looking for the next sugar daddy to save them. Time to clean house Chrysler, your embedded culture is also a problem. Now they want customers to sign a mortgage to buy their cheap products and problematic engineering (?).
Besides bad aftersales service and support, it's cars are loosing its soul. Not good.
Ein Beispiel:
Ich habe im August 24 einen c3 Aircross mild Hybrid bestellt und jetzt Ende Juli 25 noch immer nicht erhalten. Infos 0 weder vom Händler noch von Citroën obwohl ich schon 3x bei Citroën direkt angerufen habe
Alles gesagt. Nie mehr Citroën.
Que vivan, los vehículos a combustión
My e-208 spent 6 months in their Grenoble dealership, but they were unable to repair a steering that went to the right. I'm not ready to buy a Peugeot again......
What does this have to do with the bankruptcy in China? But I do recommend an MG.
No wonder they went broke trying to sell unreliable JEEP and French cars with Chinese parts what else you going to expect.
Era scritto che accadesse... la Cina oggi predilige l'elettrico con incentivi robusti mentre il termici viene penalizzato con cifre esorbitanti (circa 12000 euro per avere una targa per l'immatricolazione) che avviene a sorteggio di poche unità al mese. Cosa si vuol pretendere da un mercato che produce le batterie e che ha il monopolio delle terre rare ed e impegnato a imporre il proprio monopolio industriale sull'elettrico.. nel 2017 in Cina non c'erano restrizioni per i termici ma poi hanno trovato l'uovo di colombo ... e qualcuno della commissione europea.
This is the beginning of the end. Stellantis is in serious financial crisi.
Incredible lack of vision by management. Nissan was already making and selling the electric LEAF in Japan, Europe, and the United States, and Tesla was selling the Model S when this venture was initiated. BYD in China was all over the industry news with their multiple EV platform innovations. Business leadership is not a beauty pageant people. Develop, evolve, and innovate to compete and meet customer expectations, or perish.
Mein DS7 BLUE HD 2.0 DIESEL LÄUFT EINWANDFREI
Que se jod...an 30000€ de sudor tirados a la basura con su motor del año purestech, familia arruinada y les importa una muerda,uyyyÿyyÿ pobrecito que se van a la quiebra.
I'm not surprised about Stellantis. They only build their cars with shareholders in mind. They don't think about customers. The proof is that whether it's their hybrid or 100% electric vehicles, they always undercut the competition. Their vehicles are built on the cheap. As a result, all they encounter are reliability problems. If they don't change, I give them 5 years before they go under.
Michael how does shareholders going to benefit if the public doesn't trust the product that Stellantis is building?
If Stellantis wants to sell vehicles that aren't being recalled 6 months later and if their fix is to add an data adjustment when the real problem is a faulty production of parts, then change the location that built that faulty parts and get customers satisfaction again.
The current GM V8 engine is my case in point, the cranks are trash built with inferior metal that isn't heat treated properly, but were they machined properly as well? What a waste of money!
Jeep Chrysler and Dodge will be great, reliable vehicles ONLY when Stellantis hires Brad Hartliep as their CEO .