Stellanis is turning it off only Jeep car factory in China – largest car market in the world. It is attributed to the increasing interference of local politicians.
Based on BloombergThe automaker is embracing a strategy of “undervalued” in China over concerns that rising political tensions between that country and the rest of the world could lead to sanctions.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, “Over the past few years, we have seen more and more political interference in the business world in China. told Bloomberg. “We don’t want to fall victim to cross-sanctions as has been the case with other companies in other parts of the world recently.”
Last week, the company announced the end of 12-year production cooperation with state-owned enterprises Guangzhou Automobile Group. These comments from Tavares certainly provide more context for that decision.
Another reason to leave? Tavares points out that German and U.S.Sales of branded vehicles fell by about a fifth in China in the first half of 2022. In addition, Japanese brands also dropped double digits. Meanwhile, Chinese domestic companies saw increased sales during the same time period.
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“We see that for Western players, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell cars in China,” he told reporters. “There’s been a complete shift in the Chinese market.”
He went on to say that Jeep’s venture into China was losing money, but that the decision to leave was rooted in “broken trust” with Guangzhou and the Chinese Communist Party, which has very favorable economic policies. domestic auto companies.
Tavares says GAC didn’t do what it “had to” do when Stellantis signed an agreement to raise its stake in the Jeep joint venture Cherokee, Extend, Compass and General leader (a model only for China).
Stellantis doesn’t quite pull Jeep out of China; instead, the company will ship a line of EVs of different types of Jeeps to dealers in the country.
