Trading name GAC Fiat Type Private joint venture Area served China Founded 2010 | Native name 广汽菲亚特汽车有限公司 Industry Automotive Headquarters Changsha Parent organization GAC Group | |
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Key people Zheng Xiancong
(President)
Jack Cheng
(Managing Director) | ||
GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Changsha, China and a 50:50 joint-venture between GAC Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The company was founded on 9 March 2010. Fiat has agreed to invest an initial US$559 million in the venture.
Contents
History
Fiat and GAC signed a joint venture agreement in Rome on 6 July 2009, in the presence of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Construction of GAC Fiat facilities in Changsha began on 26 November 2009, with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by the Italian ambassador to China, the provincial leaders of Hunan and Guangdong, and city leaders of Changsha and Guangzhou. GAC Fiat Automobiles Co., Ltd. was incorporated on 9 March 2010.
The Changsha assembly plant was officially opened on 28 June 2012, in a ceremony attended by Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne and representatives of Hunan and Guandong provinces.
In January 2013 it was announced that GAC Fiat would be expanded to also include Chrysler, and that GAC Fiat would construct a new assembly plant in Guangzhou for the production of Jeep products. The plant is planned to have an initial production capacity of 100,000 units per annum.
Operations
GAC Fiat has facilities in Changsha, with an annual production capacity of 140,000 cars and 220,000 engines, covering around 700,000 m2. Vehicle production begun in June 2012, with the Fiat Viaggio five-door sedan. Later, the company started to manufacture the Ottimo, (hatchback version of the Viaggio). In October 2013, GAC Fiat announced the construction of a second manufacturing plant in Guangzhou due to be finalised in 2016. In November 2014, Fiat Chrysler and GAC expanded their partnership to produce Jeep vehicles.