Guangzhou Auto to sell its Trumpchi brand in US

Bloomberg

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC) is in talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to deepen their tie-up in China, as the world’s largest car market looks to relax some regulations and the Chinese maker prepares to sell its own Trumpchi brand in the US.
Models, production and sales are at the core of the discussions with Fiat Chrysler, Guangzhou Automobile President Feng Xingya said. “Shareholders of both companies are exploring ways to expand the scope of cooperation,” he told Bloomberg TV. A spokesman for Fiat declined to comment.
With China increasingly accounting for a larger share of revenue, foreign automakers are bolstering their local partnerships while mainland manufacturers explore markets abroad to become competitive.
“Making our company a global player is a very important breakthrough for us in our five-year plan” through 2020, Feng said. “The US market is very important to Guangzhou Automobile” and achieving success there is “symbolically significant” for the company’s global ambitions, he said.
GAC makes vehicles in China under the Jeep and Fiat brands through a Fiat Chrysler joint venture, whose sales more than tripled to 146,439 units last year. “GAC has a real interest in deepening relations with Fiat Chrysler to expand outside China, especially in the US,” said Vincenzo Longo, a strategist at IG Markets in Milan. “Fiat hasn’t been able so far to catch up with competitors in China, so there is much room to improve.”
GAC also has local ventures with Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. and the longtime manufacturing partner for carmakers plans to start exporting its own Trumpchi SUV in the US in 2019. It will move to produce in the US if American consumers welcome Trumpchi models imported from China, Feng said.