Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, amid a prolonged sales slump, is now shipping China-made Jeep SUVs to the Philippines.
The automaker started exporting vehicles Jan. 17 to its first overseas market, the Philippines, said GAC-FCA, FCA’s joint venture with GAC Motor Co.
As of March 31, the partnership said combined shipments of the Jeep Compass and Renegade to the Southeast Asia country totaled 527.
Exports will help improve utilization of factory capacity at the joint venture, GAC-FCA noted, without revealing details on future export plans.
GAC-FCA, established in 2010 in the central China city of Changsha, operates plants in Changsha and the south China city of Guangzhou.
The two factories, with a combined annual capacity of 328,000, builds four Jeep models: the Compass, Renegade, Cherokee and Grand Commander.
GAC-FCA mainly sells locally produced and imported Jeep products. After peaking at 222,332 in 2017, its annual sales have remained stuck in a steep downtrend.
In the first quarter, GAC-FCA deliveries nosedived 66 percent to 7,387, according to data released by GAC, a state-owned automaker listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In 2019, sales at the joint venture tumbled 41 percent to 73,907.
