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Several sub-brands of the Stellantis Group are rumored to be sold to Chinese automakers. Recently, there are reports that Stellantis's luxury car brands such as Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati are interested in selling. The Stellantis Group has not responded positively to this news, and BYD has denied the acquisition of Chrysler.

The reporter checked the financial report of Stellantis Group and found that the rumored acquisition of Chrysler may be related to its declining sales in recent years and the strategic adjustment of Stellantis Group. On the one hand, the United States has always been Chrysler's main market, and its main products include Jeep models and Ram pickup trucks. As new energy vehicles have brought an impact on the global automobile market, Chrysler's sales in the United States have declined in the past three years. From 2022 to 2023, Chrysler's sales in the United States ranked fourth and fifth.

On the other hand, Stellantis Group's net revenue in the first half of 2024 was 85.017 billion euros, down 14% year-on-year; net profit was 5.647 billion euros, down 48% year-on-year; adjusted operating profit was 8.463 billion euros, and adjusted operating profit margin was 10%.

Overall, the most obvious decline in Stellantis Group's profit margin in the first half of the year was in North America, which is the main source of sales for its subsidiary Chrysler. Specifically, North America accounted for more than 50% of Stellantis Group's operating profit (8.463 billion euros) in the first half of 2024, but its market share in North America declined, causing the company's overall sales to decline.

Stellantis Group CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement that the group is taking steps to address low margins and excessive inventory in its U.S. business and will not hesitate to cut underperforming brands from its vast product portfolio.

At the same time, the development of several sub-brands of the Stellantis Group in China has reached a bottleneck. In 2019, Changan Automobile withdrew from Changan Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture established with PSA; in 2022, GAC Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a joint venture between GAC Group and Stellantis Group, declared bankruptcy and entered liquidation procedures. The reasons given by the above-mentioned Chinese automakers for closing joint ventures are that the joint ventures are in a state of long-term losses.

After closing two joint ventures in China, the sales of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile, a joint venture between PSA under the Stellantis Group and Dongfeng Motor, declined. From 2016 to 2020, the sales of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile were 600,200, 378,000, 253,400, 117,000 and 50,300 respectively, with sales declining for five consecutive years. From 2021 to 2022, the sales of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile rebounded. In 2023, the sales of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile fell again, to only about 80,300 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 35.81%.

Currently, the Stellantis Group implements a light-asset business model for its brands in China. In the first half of 2024, the combined shipments of the Stellantis Group's joint ventures in China, India and the Asia-Pacific region were 32,000 units, a decrease of 90,000 units from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 35.56%; shipments excluding joint ventures were 32,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 44.83%. Based on this, in the first half of this year, the Stellantis Group's net revenue in China, India and the Asia-Pacific region reached 1.072 billion euros, a decrease of 914 million euros from the same period last year, a decrease of 46.02%.

Adjustments are underway at the Stellantis Group. In terms of new energy business, the company has established a joint venture "Leapmotor International" with Leapmotor, and its new cars have now entered the European market. At the same time, the Stellantis Group's companies in China have made personnel adjustments. On the one hand, Song Hanming "took over" from Chen Bin and concurrently served as the general manager of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile, continuing to expand its export strategy. On the other hand, on August 14, the Stellantis Group issued an announcement of personnel changes. Pan Liyin was appointed as the general manager of Stellantis (Shanghai) Automotive Co., Ltd. and the acting general manager of Alfa Romeo China, and Zeng Dihao was appointed as the deputy general manager of Stellantis (Shanghai) Automotive Co., Ltd. and the general manager of Jeep China.