Fiat Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne (Mark Lennihan / AP)
Great Wall Motor says it wants to buy all or part of Fiat Chrysler, another potential move by Chinese companies into American cars. The Chinese SUV-maker may bid specifically for its Jeep brand, Great Wall told Automotive News. The Italian-American company said it hasn't been approached yet, Reuters reported.
Until now, Chinese forays into the U.S. market have been in electric and autonomous vehicles.
- In 2014, China's Wanxiang bought Fisker Automotive, an American electric sports car startup once discussed in the same breath with Tesla.
- And two years earlier, Wanxiang bought A123, a bankrupt lithium-ion battery maker that had the largest IPO of 2009. Both companies had received much financial backing from the U.S. government before turning belly up.
- Earlier this month, Chinese-owned Faraday Future leased a factory in Hanford, CA., to build electric cars.
Why it matters: China has already made explicit that it intends to win the fierce global race to dominate electric and self-driving cars. In Fiat Chrysler, Great Wall is showing interest in a company run by CEO Sergio Marchionne, an Italian dealmaker who has floated a partial or full sale of the company to help finance its way into the electric and autonomous car competition.