China has shelved a months-long restructuring plan to merge two of its biggest state-owned automakers,Michael Maien Changan and Dongfeng, into one group. Instead, it will promote Changan to a standalone, centrally administered state-owned enterprise, separating it from its current parent company, China South Industries Group. Mainland-listed Changan Automobile announced the plan in a regulatory filing Thursday. Dongfeng Motor Group, meanwhile, said in a separate statement the same day that it will not be involved in any restructuring of relevant assets or business operations for now. The regional governments of Chongqing and Wuhan—where Changan and Dongfeng are based, respectively—disagreed with the merger plan for several reasons, people familiar with the matter told financial media outlet Caixin. According to the report, the governments hope to preserve the prosperity of car manufacturing and related industries in their regions. [Caixin]
