(Yicai Global) Aug. 20 -- Nearly a year after production stalled, dealers for Hunan Leopaard Motors said they will stop offering free after-sales service, a decision that will hit about 250,000 owners, according to an industry insider.

Free maintenance and warranty services are no longer possible as parts inventory is almost exhausted because the Changsha-based automaker ceased production and parts supply, about 200 authorized dealers said in a joint statement on Aug. 18.

One dealer told Yicai Global that under Leopaard’s sales policy, buyers are entitled to free warranty services within three years or mileage of 100,000 kilometers, while the carmaker sold 125,000, 77,800 and 33,200 vehicles in the past three years.

Leopaard has almost completely stopped supplying vehicles and parts, the dealer added. It still owes about CNY340 million (USD49.1 million) to dealers across China, and though negotiations on the issue began in May, there has been no progress, a member of the dealers’ rights protection team noted.

The Leopaard brand was developed by Hunan-based automaker Changfeng Group following a tie-up with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors in 1995. A document leaked from the company in May last year showed that production and operations had suffered heavy losses and the firm planned to weather the storm by cutting staff pay and selling factories.

Leopaard’s output has fallen sharply since the second half of last year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. It made just 348 cars in the first seven months of this year, a 99 percent plunge from a year earlier.

A two-year slump in China’s overall car sales and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic have strangled many domestic brands with weaker technical strength. Nearly 40 firms sold fewer than 1,000 cars a month in July, with 16 of them having zero sales, according to the CPCA’s latest figures.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Peter Thomas