GAC Accuses Stellantis Of Disrespecting Chinese Customers, Following The Termination Of Jeep-GAC Venture

GAC accuses Jeep parent, Stellantis, of disrespecting Chinese customers, following termination of Jeep-GAC Venture.

Jeep-GAC venture had produced the Cherokee, Renegade, Compass and Grand Commander models primarily for the China market.

Stellantis cited GAC’s failures and Chinese politicians interference in the world’s biggest car market for closing its plant in China.

GAC said the venture failed to succeed due to Stellantis’ “lack of respect for customers in the Chinese automobile market.”

Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) has accused Stellantis of disrespecting Chinese Customers, following the termination of Jeep-GAC venture which had produced the Jeep Cherokee, Renegade, Compass and Grand Commander models primarily for the China market.

Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, had last week announced the termination a 12-year manufacturing partnership with state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), citing GAC’s failures and Chinese politicians interference in the world’s biggest car market.

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Reacting to the move, GAC said that comments made by Stellantis’ CEO were “unbelievable”, adding that the venture actually failed to succeed as a result of Stellantis’ “lack of respect for customers in the Chinese automobile market.”

GAC went on to say that the companies were not “able to establish a mutually trustworthy operating mechanism adapted to the highly competitive environment in China in order to turn the adverse situation of continuous losses in recent years.”

In his earlier interview with reporters, Tavares admitted that the Jeep-GAC joint venture was racking up losses in China. He noted that the sales of German and US-branded vehicle fell by about a fifth in China during the first half of the year, while sales of local companies, including BYD Co., Geely and Nio , rose.

“We see that for Western players, selling cars in China is becoming increasingly difficult,”

“There is an absolutely major shift in the Chinese market.”

“We have two big competitors, Volkswagen and GM, who are very present in China,” Tavares added. “I wouldn’t want to be in their place.”

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