Jeep sales slide 4th straight year, underscoring Stellantis challenge

Jeep continued to struggle in 2021 while Peugeot and Citroen sales grew but remained limited in a market that rebounded.

January 20, 2022 10:47 AM

GAC-FCA

GAC-FCA assembles four Jeep models – the Grand Commander, Renegade, Compass and Cherokee.

Jeep continued to struggle in 2021 while Peugeot and Citroen sales grew but remained limited, underscoring the challenges in China facing Stellantis, the company formed a year ago with the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group.

Jeep, which markets and sells models in China with local partner GAC Motor Co., saw deliveries slump 50 percent to 20,123, according to GAC, resulting in the brand’s fourth straight annual decline.

GAC-FCA markets four locally built Jeep models – the Grand Commander, Renegade, Compass and Cherokee. It also sells imported Jeep models in China.

PSA produces and sells vehicles for Peugeot and Citroen with local partner Dongfeng Motor Group.

After sliding six straight years, aggregate deliveries at the two French brands at PSA-Dongfeng doubled from a year earlier in 2021. But volume, 100,567 cars and light trucks, remains limited, according to Dongfeng. The 2021 tally was made up of 51,056 Peugeot vehicles and 49,511 Citroen models.

Small slice

That’s a small slice of an overall Chinese light-vehicle market that increased 6.5 percent to 21.48 million in 2021 and snapped a string of three consecutive annual declines, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data.

Sales at Jeep, one of the first western brands to enter China with a joint venture in the 1980s, peaked recently at 202,700 in 2017. Dongfeng-PSA’s deliveries hit a record high of 704,000 in 2015.

The sales slump has left Stellantis’ two partnerships hampered by excess production capacity in China.

At full capacity, GAC-Fiat Chrysler can build 328,000 vehicles annually while Dongfeng-PSA is capable of producing more than 1 million vehicles.

Stellantis is making progress on improving the China operations, CEO Carlos Tavares said during an online Q&A session and briefing in December after the company released a long-term software strategy.

Stellantis plans to disclose a comprehensive plan to restructure and improve its China business in early March, he noted.