The Chery and Subaru joint ventures that were rejected because they did not meet the "Auto Industry Development Policy" did not prevent Chery from achieving high-end breakthroughs through joint ventures.

The reporter learned from an informed source that Chery and Jaguar Land Rover recently went to the NDRC to consult on the joint venture. This shows that the joint venture negotiations between the two have basically come to an end and they will soon enter the approval process.

The company has always sought Subaru's soaring from Toyota in China, becoming the first multinational car company to touch the red line of China's auto industry policy.

In the past two years, Subaru solo has been stranded in China and has been seeking to achieve domestically produced Subaru through joint ventures. The joint venture with Chery was forced to ground because it did not meet the national "Automobile Industry Development Policy."

Informed sources told reporters that as early as May, the joint venture application between Chery and Subaru was submitted to the NDRC. However, it cannot be approved because it touches the policy red line.

According to the "Automotive Industry Development Policy," the same foreign company can establish two (including two) joint ventures in the country to produce the same vehicle products (passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and motorcycles) at the domestic level, such as with China. Joint venture partners and mergers and acquisitions of other domestic automobile manufacturers may not be subject to restrictions. "At the same time, "a company with a legal personality abroad has a controlling stake in another company and is considered to be the same foreign company."

Toyota Motor owns a 16.5% stake in Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries. Although it is not an absolute controlling shareholder, it is its largest shareholder and actual controller. According to China's "Development Policy for Automobile Industry," Toyota Motor and Fuji Heavy Industries belong to the same foreign company.

Toyota Motor has already had two joint ventures between GAC Group and FAW Group in China. Therefore, Fuji Heavy Industries has no joint venture in China.

Because Toyota's holdings affect Subaru's joint venture, it was previously unthinkable to all insiders, and it was ignored by Chery and Subaru. A Toyota Chinese person told reporters that Toyota Motor and Fuji Heavy Industries are simply a stockholding relationship, and Toyota Motor will never interfere in any operations of Fuji Heavy Industries.

In 2005, Toyota Motor purchased the 8.7% shares of Fuji Heavy Industries for the first time and expanded its shareholding ratio to 16.5% in 2008. However, the ownership structure of Fuji Heavy Industries was too fragmented. When Toyota first bought shares, it was its largest shareholder.

At the time of the shares, Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries declared that the cooperation between the two parties will mainly focus on R&D and manufacturing, and they will respect their respective management decision-making powers while strictly distinguishing Toyota and Subaru brands.

In the Chinese market, Subaru has also been operating alone and has nothing to do with Toyota Motor. Informed sources said, "The principle issues related to the policy is certainly not reversible." Subaru autos want to achieve localization in China, it seems that it can only be Toyota's channels in China.

However, the rejection of the joint venture with Subaru does not mean that Chery will change its strategic route through joint ventures to achieve high-end breakthroughs. At present, the joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover has surfaced.

Chery continued joint ventures The informed sources said that the current joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover has basically ended, and recently consulted with the NDRC on related issues.

Like Subaru, Jaguar Land Rover is a niche brand that has always sought to achieve localization. In August last year, Tata India announced that its subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover, was negotiating with China Motor Corporation to discuss the joint venture production of Jaguar Land Rover in China.

Gao Bo, president of Jaguar Land Rover China, made it clear at the Chengdu Motor Show that it plans to implement domestic production of Jaguar Land Rover within the next five years. For the selection of partners, Gao Bo said that he hopes to establish a stable and long-term cooperative relationship.

Jaguar Land Rover sold 26,000 vehicles in China last year and is expected to reach 40,000 this year. In the next five years, Jaguar Land Rover will invest 1.5 billion pounds per year for global product innovation; at the same time, 40 new models will be introduced. In the Chinese market, a special R&D team has also been set up to closely integrate the needs of Chinese users with global product development.

Previously, there were reports that Lifan, Jiangling and Great Wall had negotiated joint ventures with Jaguar Land Rover. Before that, there were also rumors that Jaguar Land Rover and Chery had negotiated joint ventures, but they had not been confirmed by both parties. The recent consultation with the NDRC suggests that the two have basically reached a consensus on the joint venture.

Industry insiders believe that Chery's selected Subaru-made site in Dalian may be converted to domestic production by Jaguar Land Rover. In this way, Chery will continue to seek high-end breakthroughs through joint ventures.

Chery has suffered successive setbacks in the operation of Ruiqi’s high-end brands. Since the beginning of this year, due to the market downturn, independent brands have struggled and their living space has been increasingly compressed. Through joint ventures, it will be beneficial for Chery to maintain its position in the automotive industry and help increase its efficiency and scale. It copied the experience of joint venture operation to the development of independent brands and explored a new path for the development of independent brands.

In terms of joint ventures, Chery has already negotiated with several car companies one after another. The industry believes that as the flag bearer of the independent brand, Chery has made contributions to the development of China's own brand. In the face of the approval of Subaru, a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover will receive more support from the country.

Regarding the joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, Chery Automobile related parties did not respond and said they did not know.