Jeep and Peugeot are set to expand on a joint venture with Dongfeng that will see Chinese-built Jeep vehicles exported to international markets.
Electric Cars
Stellantis has announced that it will expand its joint venture partnership with Chinese brand, Dongfeng, for the production of four new vehicles.
Four ‘new energy’ vehicles will be produced by Dongfeng for Stellantis, with two as-yet unseen off-road Jeep vehicles confirmed, along with two Peugeot vehicles, previewed by the Concept 6 and Concept 8 shown at the recent Beijing motor show.
The arrangement expands on an existing joint-venture program operated by Stellantis and Dongfeng, known as Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd.
This setup currently builds Peugeot and Citroen vehicles for China, and is the source of the Citroen C5 X sold in Europe.
Stellantis announced that the two Peugeot vehicles were “intended for China and export to global markets”, while the Jeep models were listed as “for global markets” with no mention of China for those models.
Peugeot has run an active joint venture program with Dongfeng for 34 years, prior to the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2021, which formed Stellantis.
The partnership appears to give Dongfeng a controlling stake, with a claimed €1 billion (A$1.63 billion) combined investment in the four-vehicle program, of which Stellantis has contributed only €130 million (A$211.9 million).
Jeep’s history in China saw it enter the Chinese market in 1984 in a joint venture with Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), the first JV of its kind between a Western brand and a Chinese company.
Stellantis also currently owns a 20 per cent stake in Chinese brand Leapmotor, and operates a joint venture for markets outside of China called Leapmotor International, owned 51 per cent by Leapmotor and 49 per cent by Stellantis.
Dongfeng, meanwhile, also currently operates JV programs with Honda and Nissan.
In a statement released by Stellantis concerning the new Dongfeng joint venture, CEO Antonio Filosa hinted that the program could yet expand further, saying, “We look forward to this project and to collaborate even more in the future.”
The two companies have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to further explore further possible cooperation, although details on this aspect of the agreement are yet to be provided.
Electric Cars Guide
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
