"Scale transactions, not friendships." In 12 years, the two shareholders of GAC Fick no longer have friendships, and the transactions are one step away from the end. On October 31, Stellantis Group issued an announcement stating that shareholders of GAC Fick, GAC Group and Stellantis have approved a resolution agreeing that GAC Fick file for bankruptcy to the court when he is in a loss. Stellantis Group fully impaired its long-term investment in GAC Fick and other related assets in its first half of 2022 financial results. After the announcement of
was released, it immediately became a hot search. In recent years, due to market competition pressure and transformation of the automobile industry, some foreign auto companies have begun to adjust their strategies in China, but few cases of joint venture directly filed for bankruptcy. Behind the "show ending" of GAC Fick's bankruptcy, while the high debt ratio is also the same as both shareholders have their own plans.
In 2010, GAC Group and Stellantis Group jointly established GAC Fick with a 50:50 share ratio; in 2015, GAC Fick's main brand, Jeep, officially achieved domestic production. Subsequently, GAC Fick launched models such as Free Light, Free Hero , Compass and Big Commander, forming a product camp covering small, compact and medium-sized SUVs.
However, the highlight moment did not last long. Since 2018, GAC Fick's sales have been declining. Last year, GAC Fick's sales were only 20,100 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 50.33%. In the first half of this year, GAC Fick's production dropped to 822 vehicles and sales were only 1,861 vehicles. Among them, both production and sales returned to zero in June. Since July this year, GAC Fick sales have no longer appeared in the production and sales reports of GAC Group.
sales continue to be sluggish, and GAC Fick's debt ratio continues to rise. GAC Group issued an announcement stating that GAC Fick's production and operation have now reached a complete stagnation. As of September 30, 2022, GAC Fick (unaudited) had total assets of 7.322 billion yuan, total liabilities of 8.113 billion yuan, and assets of 110.8%. The assets are no longer enough to repay all debts and there is obviously a lack of repayment ability. To this end, GAC Fick plans to file a bankruptcy application with the court in accordance with current laws and regulations such as the " Bankruptcy Law ". This means that GAC Fick is insolvent.
At the same time, the announcement also mentioned that as of September 30, 2022, the company (including enterprises within the scope of the merger) has formed a total of approximately 1.035 billion yuan in debt claims against GAC Fick due to providing entrusted loans and various business transactions (292 million yuan has been set aside for impairment of ; there is still no more than 200 million yuan for its employee resettlement expenses, and it is expected to be paid first when it goes bankrupt and liquidation).
's debt ratio has risen, and the disagreement between the shareholders has also begun to appear. Previously, Stellantis Group once negotiated with GAC Group to adjust the equity . In January this year, Stellantis Group issued a statement saying that it plans to increase its stake in in GAC Fick from 50% to 75%. However, GAC Group subsequently issued a statement saying that the equity adjustment plan was not approved by GAC Group. In March this year, Stellantis Group CEO Tang Weishi once again stated that it would increase the group's shareholding in GAC Fick from 50% to 75%. However, the two parties have never reached an agreement on the equity adjustment.
Multiple rounds of negotiations failed, and Stellantis Group chose to give up. In July this year, Stellantis Group announced that it plans to terminate the joint venture established in March 2010 in an orderly manner with GAC Group. Subsequently, GAC Group officially announced that in view of the fact that its joint venture established with Stellantis Group has been in a loss-making state and has been unable to resume normal production and operation since February this year, the two parties jointly decided to terminate the joint venture. GAC Fick became an abandoned son, but the gunpowder smell between Stellantis and GAC Group was even stronger. In August this year, Tang Weishi said: "GAC Group does not want to comply with the binding memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies, and would rather breach the contract than enforce it. In the end, the trust between the two parties broke down." GAC Group counterattacked and said: "It is because Stellantis does not respect the Chinese market." In response, some media reported that internal employees revealed that neither China nor foreign parties want to take responsibility, and the foreign party wants more equity, while China wants to develop new energy vehicle to utilize factory resources.
Now, with the announcement of bankruptcy filing, GAC Fick is about to become history.A relevant person from Stellantis Group told Beijing Business Daily that in the future, the Jeep brand will be operated in China by light asset and distributed Jeep brand imported models in China. In addition, it is reported that the second factory upgraded by GAC Aion was the previous GAC Fick Panyu factory.
"In terms of equity issues, GAC Group and Stellantis Group failed to reach an agreement, and other factors such as poor business in China led to the withdrawal of GAC Ficci in the end." Yan Jinghui, a member of the Expert Committee of the China Distribution Association, believes that in the future, Stellantis Group will continue to import business, and GAC Ficci is insolvent, so it is difficult to find a suitable takeover, so filing for bankruptcy may be the best way to leave.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Liu Yang Liu Xiaomeng
