GAC-FCA Officially Declared Bankrupt In China

Well, it’s official—another chapter in the long and rocky history of Fiat Chrysler’s attempts in China has come to a close. The Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd (GAC) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) joint venture, once seen as a promising gateway into the world’s largest auto market, has now been declared bankrupt.

On July 8th, 2025, the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court in Hunan Province accepted the joint venture’s bankruptcy filing after it was confirmed the company couldn’t reorganize its debts. According to Car News China, the filing was supported by creditors after a long financial struggle that lasted years.

The partnership between GAC Group and FCA (now part of Stellantis) kicked off back in March 2010. Originally branded as GAC Fiat, the JV launched with big plans and an investment of about 17 billion yuan (roughly $2.3 billion USD at the time). Things got off to a hopeful start with localized Fiat models like the Viaggio and Freemont.

But the real shift came in 2015 when the venture rebranded as GAC-FCA and shifted focus to Jeep®. That same year, the first Chinese-built Jeep Cherokee rolled off the line. Sales exploded, climbing to over 205,000 units by 2017. For a brief moment, GAC-FCA was the fastest-growing JV automaker in China.

Then came the free fall. Sales nosedived year after year—from 125,100 units in 2018 to just 20,100 units by 2021. Despite emergency cash infusions totaling 4 billion yuan ($580+ million USD) from both GAC and Stellantis, the downward spiral continued.

Things really unraveled in 2022 when Stellantis announced it wanted to boost its stake in the JV from 50% to 75% without GAC’s approval. GAC immediately rejected the move, publicly stating it wasn’t authorized. That dispute blew up the partnership, and by July of that year, both sides announced the end of their joint venture.

Production of Jeep models in China ended, and Stellantis pivoted to offering Jeep vehicles strictly as imports.

Now, three years later, GAC-FCA is officially bankrupt. What started with high hopes and fast growth ended with missed opportunities, poor strategy, and corporate clashes.

China’s auto market is tough—and Stellantis’ attempt to make Jeep a major player there just couldn’t keep up.

Source: Car News China