Chrysler to resume China production in Changsha

Shanghai, April 26 (Gasgoo.com) Reporters got the news on the press day of the 2010 International Automotive Exhibition on April 23 that U.S. auto giant Chrysler plans to return to the mainstream segment of the China auto market.

After Fiat Auto Group's re-planning its vehicle business, Chrysler Group is about to resume its production in China. In the next five years, the Chrysler Jeep and other products will be mass-produced in the joint venture with Fiat-Guangzhou Auto in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in south central China. This is also the first official resumption of Chrysler's China production after pulling out of Daimler's joint venture with Beijing Auto in early 2009.　

When China became the second largest market for the Jeep Wrangler, Chrysler Group could no longer meet the progress in China. Fiat Group CEO Malchow said in the future the company will strip away the auto assets including the Chrysler brand and has made a grand five-year-plan. Malchow said China will become one of Fiat Group's key markets, adding that the joint venture with Fiat-Guangzhou Auto, currently being built in Changsha, will have an initial capacity of 330,000 units and the Chrysler Jeep SUV is possibly to be put into mass production there.

In 2009, the joint venture between Fiat and Guangzhou Auto was established in Changsha, with a total investment of 5 billion yuan ($732 million).