A GAC Trumpchi M8 MPV on display at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026. Credit: CnEVPost
- GAC’s shares were halted on Monday, with an employee saying a major announcement would be released after the market close.
- The company has not responded to rumors of an equity partnership or strategic restructuring with FAW. Its Shanghai-listed shares have fallen 37.85% this year.
Trading of GAC Group (SSE: 601238) shares was halted both in Shanghai and Hong Kong on Monday. A company employee said a major announcement would be released after the market close.
The employee said the halt had been put in place at short notice this morning, according to Yicai. The announcement’s exact timing was still undecided, and its contents could not yet be disclosed, the employee said.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s suspension notice showed GAC’s A-shares were halted for the full day on September 14 pending disclosure of a material matter.
The halt followed growing speculation over the weekend about cooperation between GAC and FAW. The rumors involved an “equity partnership” or strategic restructuring, and GAC did not respond when asked whether they were true, Yicai reported.
Before the suspension, GAC’s Shanghai-listed shares were quoted at 5.09 yuan apiece. The stock has fallen 37.85% this year.
China has recently signaled renewed support for auto industry consolidation. On September 11, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the 15th five-year plan for the intelligent connected new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. It calls for stepping up mergers and restructuring, as well as cross-regional consolidation among automakers.
Jointly issued by 9 government departments, the plan calls for phasing out outdated and inefficient capacity through market mechanisms and legal processes to improve overall capacity utilization.
At a press conference the same day, Shao Ji, deputy director of the industry development department at the National Development and Reform Commission, said the government would support reforms at large corporate groups and promote mergers and restructuring.
He said the government would support leading companies in integrating research, development and production resources to avoid competition based on similar product designs and technologies.
China targets NEV shares of 70% for passenger-car sales and 40% for commercial-vehicle sales by 2030, alongside large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles.
($1 = 6.7698 yuan)
