Stellantis Jeep joint venture in China to file for bankruptcy

[wemay]

Stellantis Jeep joint venture in China to file for bankruptcy

The joint venture that makes Jeeps in China will file for bankruptcy, partners Stellantis and Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) said on Monday, after a long decline for the oldest foreign auto brand in the world's largest car market.

www.reuters.com

 

[jkasch]

That's news to me, but the article is a month old. Interesting that it didn't get any attention then.

 

[wings&wheels]

Guessing Stellantis was trying to exit the JV for some time, this worked. Probably started throttling the IP going into the country years ago in prep for this.

"confident that they have closed the gaps with or even surpassed their foreign partners" easier when others are forced to share IP, code, etc. as a cost of market entry, but business is hardball.

 

[wemay]

That's news to me, but the article is a month old. Interesting that it didn't get any attention then.

I thought so too. It actually just showed up on my news feed today.

 

[OVERKILL]

Yeah, not surprising, as the article mentions, a lot of the JV's in China are on rocky ground, I think Stellantis was looking for an exit as @wings&wheels notes, and this was the easiest way to do it.

 

[KrisZ]

Everybody should bail from China, we would be much better for it.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Everybody should bail from China, we would be much better for it.

Wish we would never "brought" them into the trade world. Have more honest countries make our stuff and tell people that the days of paying nothing for goods and services are over.

 

[Number_35]

Wish we would never "brought" them into the trade world. Have more honest countries make our stuff and tell people that the days of paying nothing for goods and services are over.

The pundits expected that China would liberalize socially and politically in the process of moving toward a market economy. We haven't seen that so far.

We need to bring manufacturing jobs back here.

 

[Vil_Riker]

They were making legacy products. The push in China is for EV-s so it's not a surprise that their sales have been declining in the last 4 years.

 

[Dave Hess]

Everybody should bail from China, we would be much better for it.

I agree, unfortunately China is the global puppet master and difficult to separate from.

 

[tyman]

They were making legacy products. The push in China is for EV-s so it's not a surprise that their sales have been declining in the last 4 years.

And it's Stellantis. People are probably wising up now.

 

[dbias]

China is still a backwards ass place that relies on the United States Navy to ensure free trade. Shut them down and back to the stone age. The free trade world must shun china’s and Russians aggression

 

[camrydriver111]

China is a very competitive market. Only German brands have widespread success. At this point BMW is designing cars with the Chinese market in mind, it accounts for 1/3 of their sales, and putting those giant grills on to appeal to them.

If you have a mediocre product you have to compete not only with other global auto makers but Chinese companies as well.

Then there is the changing market. There are more and more young people buying in China so they expect a more tech/lifestyle oriented product. The Chinese domestic brands have been quicker to exploit this.

Thats why Tesla is doing well in China. It is not only a good car, but a statement on your progressive values and status in life. Elon has also made some statements supporting China's position on Taiwan. That will help grease the wheels a little bit as well. He truly is a genius businessman.

 

[Vil_Riker]

There is a lot of hate for the BMW grills but the Lincoln grills are three times as large and no one cares.

 

[PandaBear]

Wish we would never "brought" them into the trade world. Have more honest countries make our stuff and tell people that the days of paying nothing for goods and services are over.

The original deal and idea started with the goal to get CCP out of bed with USSR, so it is a divide and conquer tactic. It worked well for at least 40 years and like all relationships, things can get better or worse and need constant evaluation.

Japan and Vietnam used to be our enemy, but now allies. What would happen if CCP stays with USSR back then and bail USSR out? It may not work as well as what happened, USSR may not collapse.

 

[PandaBear]

And it's Stellantis. People are probably wising up now.

It is definitely a less sexy brand even in China compare to others. It may only be about the same or slightly better than their all homegrown car brands without JV, so they have to fight for the bottom of the price tier.