(Yicai Global) June 10 -- Jeep will be focusing on brand development without local partners in China in the short term after the off-road vehicle marque owned by Stellantis ended its partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group, according to an executive.

"Jeep will not be looking for new partners in China in the short term, but will focus on brand development by itself," Ding Yukun, vice president of Jeep China, told Yicai Global recently.

In February, Jeep unveiled its first Chinese concept store in Shanghai, and currently, the brand has 28 agencies in the country amid its attempt to shift to a premium positioning after a failed tie-up with GAC Group. Evidently, the 2024 Jeep Wrangler recently debuted in China, with a starting price of nearly CNY510,000 (USD71,094). Amsterdam-based Stellantis has launched plug-in hybrid cars, and will also launch pure electric vehicles in the Chinese market in the future.

Jeep is returning to its model of importing vehicles from abroad as Stellantis said in July 2022 that it will negotiate with GAC to terminate the pair's joint venture GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that had produced Jeep-branded vehicles in China since 2015. The reason is that sales had slumped after peaking in 2017 with more than 200,000 units sold.

A senior executive at GAC previously said in an interview with Yicai Global that the poor sales of GAC FCA were caused by the JV's failure to grasp changes in consumer demand in China in recent years whereas the group’s Japanese and independent brands have performed well.

Editor: Emmi Laine