JAC Motors

History

Established in 1964 as Hefei Jianghuai Automobile Factory, its name was changed to Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd. in 1997. The company made an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001.

JAC has historically only produced commercial trucks (under the brand name Jianghui), but MPVs and SUVs appeared in the 2000s. By 2007, the company had gained government approval for passenger car production but, nonetheless, continued to be referred to as a truck maker. Prior to the 2007 acquisition of a passenger car license, JAC cooperated with Hyundai Motors in the early 2000s in an attempt to expand its product line. Beginning in 2003, it assembled Hyundai MPVs although this stopped sometime prior to 2007. At least two models based on Hyundai technology continued to be made by JAC after the cooperation was cancelled–a MPV and a SUV. Hyundai explored setting up a joint venture with the company in 2004,

In 2009, the Chinese government indicated that it supported consolidation in the Chinese auto industry, leading analysts to predict the possibility of JAC joining with Chery since they are both located in Anhui province. On the surface such a merger would make sense: Chery mainly built passenger cars, and JAC was almost entirely focused on trucks at the time. Since then, however, JAC has made it clear that it is not interested in consolidation under the aegis of the larger Chery. JAC has begun to concentrate more on passenger cars, and a 2010 announcement of a new electric vehicle program may—at least partially—have been an effort to stave off the rumored merger.

Sales reached more than 300,000 units in 2009 including 12,100 sold overseas.

In 2010, it was one of the top ten most-productive vehicle manufacturers in China selling 458,500 units for 2.5% market share and reaching eighth place. JAC dropped one spot to ninth in 2011 making nearly 500,000 vehicles, and in 2012 a fall in units produced to about 445,000 precipitated the company's moving down one more rung to tenth place. Estimated production capacity is over 500,000 units/year as of 2009.

Products

JAC has a wide model line that spans from commercial trucks to small city cars. Some of its models may be real standouts. In 2009, a Pininfarina-designed city car, the JAC Tojoy, won numerous awards including the J.D. Power China Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) award.

In the 2000s, its flagship model was the Refine (Ruifeng in Chinese). The restyled 2004 Ruifeng Gold featured 60% Chinese-made part content.

Current passenger car models

JAC currently produces the following passenger cars:

Electric vehicles

As of August 2010, JAC plans to make electric or hybrid-electric vehicles at an as-yet-unbuilt production base. China subsidizes oil (an incentive for the State to encourage use and manufacture of electric cars), and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric cars as Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology.

The JAC J3 EV all-electric car was launched in China in 2010. It has a range of 130 km (81 mi). Between 2010 and 2011, a total of 1,585 of the first and second generation models were sold in the country. A third generation, called the JAC J3 iev, was launched in September 2012. During 2012, the J3 EV was the second best selling pure electric car in China, after the Chery QQ3 EV. In 2013, about 2,500 JAC iEV (J3 EV) were sold making it the highest selling pure electric vehicle in China of 2013. Cumulative sales reached 10,161 units through June 2015.

Operations

A 40,000 unit/year medium-to-heavy truck production base should become operation in 2012 and is probably located in Hefei.

Research and development

An R&D facility in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, is complemented by three overseas R&D centres in Turin, Italy, Tokyo, Japan and in Seoul, Korea.

Joint ventures

JAC announced a pair of joint ventures with Navistar International Corporation , NC2 Global (itself a Navistar/Caterpillar joint venture). The NC2 joint venture will manufacture heavy duty trucks and parts while the Navistar joint venture will build medium to heavy diesel engines in China with parts and services provisioned by Navistar. The new companies will both be located in Hefei where JAC is also based.

Sales

A total of 203,498 JAC passenger cars were sold in China in 2013, making it the 22nd largest-selling car brand in the country in that year (and the 7th largest-selling Chinese brand).

Sales outside China

JAC began the export of vehicles in 1990 (to Bolivia), and JAC products have subsequently been sold in over a hundred countries. Light trucks are a popular export product.

Some JAC exports are in the form of knock-down kits, which are assembled at overseas factories in countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Iran. As of 2010, a possible factory in Slovakia is under discussion. Such factories are not necessarily owned by or affiliated with JAC. Knock-down exports are an easy way to gain access to developing markets without added after-sales service costs.

In 2009, JAC started a partnership with a distributor in Brazil, the SHC group. As of early 2011, it had more than 10,000 firm orders from its Brazilian partner. JAC also had plans to build a production base in the country as of 2009. This plan remained active until at least 2011, at which time the plant was to be located in Bahia state and built in cooperation with the SHC group, which was to provide 80% of the initial investment.