[CCF mod]

From China Car Times


July 31, 2009
Gonow Auto, a small privately owned SUV and pick-up truck manufacturer based in Taizhou City, has signed a 50:50 joint venture with Guangzhou Automotive Group.

Details of the JV are still sketchy, but it appears that Gonow has put fixed assets into the deal, whilst Guangzhou Auto are set to invest cash into the deal. The deal will see Guangzhou Auto and Gonow move into Gonow’s Hangzhou facility, but it is unclear if they will continue to build Gonow vehicles, or if Guangzhou vehicles will be introduced. It would be wise to remember that Guangzhou did buy Changfeng Auto, another SUV truck maker who plan to build a new range of pick up trucks in China and also hybrid SUV’s.

 

[dragin]

Isn't Gonow more of an assembler of SUVs and pickups than a manufacturer? I'm told they don't manufacturer their own vehicle bodies, and I don't think they produce engines. So I don't know what the giant Guangzhou Auto has to gain, except maybe a plant location further north, that might fit in with their independent automaking plans.
Perhaps our friend Jason of Gonow can shed some light on this.

 

[CCF mod]

GAC, Gonow to sign restructuring deal soon

April 20, 2010
Reportedly, Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co., Ltd. (GAC) has reached an acquisition agreement with Chinese minicar maker Zhejiang Gonow Auto Co., Ltd. and the contract will be signed in Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, on April 26 2010.

This is GAC's second restructuring in China after its previous acquisition of the Hunan Changfeng Motor Co Ltd. (Presently known as GAC Changfeng Motor Co Ltd.) The restructuring complies with the company's development thinking of consolidating its geographic advantage in the southern Yangtze River region so that it could benefit enormously from the country's adjustments to the automobile industry layout.

A source in the Gonow Auto said the acquisition is a matter of fact, but now the two sides speak with one voice on it that all information will be officially released after the conference on April 26. He also said the deal between GAC and Gonow is to cooperate but not GAC's whole acquisition of the Gonow. Now both sides have made detailed plans for the follow-up development of Gonow, which will be announced after the signing ceremony on April 26.

A long-time observer and industry insider of the GAC said GAC's restructuring Gonow, currently will not create true impact on its magnitude, which is mainly a strategy thought to consolidate GAC's geographic advantage in the southern region so that the company could take advantage of the country's adjustments to the automobile industry layout.

http://autonews.gasgoo.com/auto-news/1014843/GAC-Gonow-to-sign-restructuring-deal-soon.html

 

[dragin]

....the deal between GAC and Gonow is to cooperate but not GAC's whole acquisition of the Gonow......

This seems to be the key point of this report. For now it appears to be simply a cooperative venture, giving GAC better access to the more northerly Zhejiang province, with Shanghai just next door. At the same time it gives Gonow a way to deal with the regional protectionism that was also keeping them out of the far south.

 

[Chrislin]

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "GAC") and Zhejiang GONOW Group（hereinafter ”GONOW Auto”) signed the strategic cooperation at Hangzhou city, Zhejiang Province on April 26,2010. Leaders from national industry, Zhejiang province, Guangzhou city, Hangzhou city, Taizhou city and Dongying city as well as guests from all walks of life attended the signing ceremony. the signature of the agreement means the GAC and GONOW Auto will continue self-innovation, improve original brand manufacture(OBM) and explore the auto market based on the complement on each other and win-win. It is a milestone on the restructuring of the Chinese auto industry.
GAC is a large auto manufacturing enterprise in China, whose main businesses covers the whole design and manufacturing of vehicle and parts, which facing the domestic and foreign markets, sales of automobiles, auto logistics, auto finance, auto insurance and the related services, making GAC an auto company with the independent and integrated valve chain of manufacturing, supply, sales and R&D system. Currently GAC has invested in tens of renowned subsidiaries including Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor (China) Co., Ltd., GAC Research Development and Production Base, Guangzhou Denway Bus Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Yangcheng Automobile Co., Ltd., Guangqi Hino Motor Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Component Co., Ltd., Guangqi Toyota Engine Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Business Co., Guangzhou Guang Ai Insurance Brokers Ltd., Tong Fang Global (Tianjin) Logistic Co., Ltd., China Lounge Investment Ltd., and GAC Automotive Engineering Institute and manufactures several series of products such as multiple models and brands of passenger vehicles , commercial vehicles, auto engines and main automobile parts.
GONOW Auto is a private owned auto company which owns Hangzhou xiaoshan manufacturing base, Taizhou Luqiao manufacturing base and Shandong dongying manufacturing base, with designed annual production capacity of 300,000 pickup, SUV and mini-van. During the past years, with continues effort of GONOW people, GONOW
GAC and GONOW Auto made a friendly agreement on strategic and cooperation based on requirement of self-development. According to the agreement, GAC will invest on fund and GONOW Auto will invest on the relevant auto industry to integral GONOW Auto into a joint venture with shares of 51:49 between GAC and GONOW Auto. On the one hand, the both parties will supply fund, technical, talent and management to further motivate the production capacity, product and team spirit, on the other hand, the joint venture will use the management of private company and exert its competitive advantage in town, countryside and overseas market. Moreover, the new joint venture will enhance its production capability and try its best to make it the pickup and mini-van manufacture base head in China.
The cooperation between GAC and GONOW Auto will optimize the industry layout of both parties, thus taking better chance in the structure of national industrial structure; perfect the product structure and brand so as to further production capability and enhance its influence on the domestic auto industry; innovate the cooperation mechanism and set an example for cooperation between the state-owned and private own corporate.
We believe the future of GONOW will be better!

 

[CCF mod]

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC), the largest automaker in southern China, and Gonow Auto Co., a small privately owned SUV and pick-up truck manufacturer based in Taizhou, Zhejiang, have signed today an agreement to create a 51:49 joint venture, the Information Times reported Thursday.

GAC, a partner of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., has agreed to retain the existing management team of Gonow in the new company, which will have a registered capital of 1.26 billion yuan ($189 million) and will be lead by Gonow chairman Liao Xuezhong.

Gonow will not largely adjust its product planning, and will still focus on production of micro vehicle, SUV and pickup in the long term. However, its development scale must be enlarged rapidly because GAC wants to increase sales of the restructed Gonow to 600,000 units by 2015, a source from Gonow told the First Financial Daily in October.

Gonow, which sold around 40,000 vehicles last year, currently owns three vehicle manufacturing plants, seven machinery part plants and one research center. Net assets of the company are valued at approximately 3.2 billion yuan.

On April 26, 2010, GAC and Gonow signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Hangzhou, according to which the Guangzhou-based automaker will allocate a certain amount of cash to restructure relevant assets of Gonow and build a new company under the name "Guangqi Gonow", in which GAC will hold 51% stake and the rest 49% stake will belong to Gonow.

This is the first deal in which a state-owned enterprise will acquire a private company in the auto industry and will set an example for similar deals in the future, en.21cbh.com said.

sources:
http://autonews.gasgoo.com/china-news/guangzhou-auto-gonow-sign-jv-deal-today-source-101209.shtml
http://www.autohome.com.cn/news/201012/159277.html

 

[Chrislin]

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "GAC") is integrally converted into a joint stock company from the former limited liability company on June 28th, 2005. It was initiated by Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co., Ltd., Wanxiang Group Corporation, China National Machinery Industry Corporation, Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Group and Guangzhou Chime-Long Hotel Co., Ltd.
GAC's equity participation is as below: Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co., Ltd. holds 3,217,403,529 shares, which account for 91.9346% of the total shareholding equity, Wanxiang Group Corporation holds 139,636,656 shares, which account for 3.99%, China National Machinery Industry Corporation holds 129,169,156 shares, which account for 3.6909%, Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Group holds 6,999,331 shares, which account for 0.2%, Guangzhou Chime-Long Hotel Co., Ltd. holds 6,456,883 shares, which account for 0.1845%. Among them, Wanxiang Group Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers of automobile parts and components in China, China National Machinery Industry Corporation has an

advantage in machinery manufacture,Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Group is closely linked with automobile industry and has a regional advantage, Guangzhou Chime-Long Hotel Co., Ltd. is a private-owned enterprise with favorable operation mechanism and good market reputation.

GAC’s main businesses cover the whole design and manufacturing of vehicle and parts, which facing the domestic and foreign markets, sales of automobiles, auto logistics, auto finance, auto insurance and the related services, making GAC an auto company with the independent and integrated valve chain of manufacturing, supply, sales and R&D system. Currently GAC has invested in tens of renowned subsidiaries including Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor (China) Co., Ltd., GAC Research Development and Production Base, Guangzhou Denway Bus Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Yangcheng Automobile Co., Ltd., Guangqi Hino Motor Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Component Co., Ltd., Guangqi Toyota Engine Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Automobile Group Business Co., Guangzhou Guang Ai Insurance Brokers Ltd., Tong Fang Global (Tianjin) Logistic Co., Ltd., China Lounge Investment Ltd., and GAC Automotive Engineering Institute and manufactures several series of products such as multiple models and brands of passenger vehicles , commercial vehicles, auto engines and main automobile parts.
From http://www.gagc.com.cn

 

[Chrislin]