Joint venture that distributed Jeep brand in China files for bankruptcy

Stellantis said its joint venture The nonprofit, which made and distributed the Jeep brand in China, will file for bankruptcy, a move that follows the European auto giant’s failure to turn around its dwindling sales in the country.

Stellantis said it will continue to provide services to existing and future Jeep-branded customers in China. This detracted from the value of your investment in joint venture and other assets related to its first-half financial results, the company said.

Shareholders of Stellantis, which is also the parent company of Chrysler, authorized the bankruptcy filing with its Chinese counterpart, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., and its joint ventureGAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Co., Stellantis said in a statement Monday.

The order marks the latest bump in the road for Stellantis, which also makes Ram pickups and the Peugeot brand, in its troubled foray into China.

The Jeep maker once said it wanted to increase its stake to become a majority shareholder in the JV. In July, he reversed course and said he would instead end the joint ventureblaming the lack of progress in its discussions with GAC Motor to increase equity ownership.