Gonow Explained

Zhejiang Gonow Auto Co., Ltd.
Type:Subsidiary
Fate:Merger with GAC Group
Location City:Taizhou, Zhejiang
Location Country:China
Parent:GAC Group
Industry:Automotive
Products:Automobiles
Homepage:gonowauto.com

Gonow (officially Zhejiang Gonow Auto Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles and SUV's headquartered in Taizhou, Zhejiang and a subsidiary of GAC Group. It markets its products under the brand name GAC Gonow in China and as Gonow in other markets.

History

The company was founded on 27 September 2003 with headquarters in Taizhou, Zhejiang. The campus covers an area of 268,000 m2. Production began with the Gonow AGE, with an initial phase of 60,000 units produced. Gonow spent 351.5 million RMB expanding its grounds by 100 acres, and increasing production to 200,000 units per year. They also began cooperation with Wuhan University of Technology, taking over construction of the Gonow Automobile R&D Center.

In 2006, Gonow entered the European Union market, in a joint venture with the Italian company DR Motor Company SpA. Two SUV models were produced under license, and were marketed under the brand name Katay Gonow.

On 24 October 2010, Gonow was the first Chinese car to score points in a FIA world championship, with its Italian Team Sonia Ielo – Francesca Olivoni taking 8th place in the Ecorally San MarinoVatican City of the FIA Alternative Energies Cup.[1] [2]

In 2010, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC) bought 51% of Gonow.[3] Gonow announced in March 2015 that the company will start concentrating on constructing Trumpchi vehicles, raising anger from its dealers since the unsold Gonow vehicles and spare parts were mortgaged by various banks.[4]

In 2015, GAC Group announced that Gonow will be integrated into the company as a subsidiary.[5] It's been reported that the 49% stake of Gonow will be purchased and will halt further production/sales in 2016 due to problems in committing to aftermarket sales and production/delivery of its vehicles to Gonow dealers.[6]

Former Products

See also: List of GAC vehicles.

Katay Gonow

External links

Notes and References

  1. Fabrizio Brunetti, Ecorally 2010: 500 km con un occhio ai consumi. Motori.it, 10-27-2010.
  2. http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/Pages/alternative.aspx FIA Alternative Energies Cup
  3. News: Gonow marries GAC . ChinaAutoWeb.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20200603171441/http://chinaautoweb.com/2010/04/gonow-marries-gac/ . 3 June 2020 . dead.
  4. Web site: GAC Gonow faces ire of dealerships - Business . Chinadaily.com.cn . 2022-06-21.
  5. Web site: China. 27 June 2019.
  6. Web site: GAC Gonow may stop production due to insolvency.
  7. News: New Models from the 2010 Guangzhou Auto Show (5): GAC-Gonow Aoosed G5 . ChinaAutoWeb.com.