(Yicai) Oct. 19 -- GAC FCA, a bankrupt joint venture co-founded by GAC Group and Stellantis Group which used to produce Jeep-branded vehicles in China, will start manufacturing parts again to cater to surging demand.

GAC FCA will resume the production of car body panels at some workshops before Feb. 2, management of the Changsha-based firm said recently. The former maker of the iconic 4x4 sport utility vehicle in China has provided after-sales service unit with some spare parts left from owners of rented warehouses and some remaining parts in the factory. It will also disassemble over 170 scrapped vehicles to use them for parts. 

Jeep owners welcomed GAC FCA's announcement online but some of them said to Yicai that the firm should also widen production to include more types of products such as electronic and electrical components.

GAC FCA filed for bankruptcy a year ago. In February, Stellantis, the owner of marquees Citroen and Peugeot, said on Weibo it will offer daily maintenance and after-sales services for China-made Jeeps, as well as domestically produced or imported Fiat vehicles sold by GAC FCA.

This year, car owners and vehicle vendors have complained about shortages of Jeep parts, and especially body panels of domestically produced cars are in short supply. Such scarcity has resulted in soaring prices as a front bumper with an original price of CNY2,000 or CNY3,000 (USD273 to USD410) could now cost as much as CNY50,000 (USD6,834).

Editor: Emmi Laine