Stellantis invested €1.5 billion in Leapmotor, an investment that enabled the automotive group to acquire approximately 20% of the Chinese company’s share capital. The partnership also includes the creation of Leapmotor International, 51:49 joint venture led by Stellantiswith exclusive rights to export, sell and manufacture Leapmotor products outside the Chinese region.
The joint venture plans build and sell cars in Europe, starting reportedly with the T03 small electric car, which could be produced in Poland. Next up on the Old Continent will be the C10, a roughly 4.7m-long SUV that will reportedly be available in both electric and hybrid versions.
Through this joint venture, Stellantis aims to challenge car manufacturers such as Dacia which offer cars at a more affordable price on the market. Natalie KnightCFO of Stellantis, called Leapmotor “the fifteenth brand of the group.”
The first two models to be sold in Europe, the T03 and C10, are due to receive European Union certification by the summer. According to the results of Stellantis’ meeting with investors, two more city cars are in development and will appear after 2024. In the long term, Leapmotor will cover various market segments and the cars will also be offered in driverless versions. .
Leapmotor International will begin selling cars under the Leapmotor brand in the second half of this year through existing Stellantis sales channels by allocating dedicated space in Stellantis stores.
These models will not compete with existing Stellantis products, but will instead compete with vehicles from global brands positioned similarly to Leapmotor in China, namely: “price of money“, so cars are offered at affordable prices. As stated at the beginning, in Europe Leapmotor will have to deal with, for example, Dacia.
In addition to the joint venture news, Leapmotor expects to deliver 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles this year, with monthly deliveries rising to 30,000 by the fourth quarter. 2023 sales were 144,000. However, the joint venture will also operate outside of Europe in markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Source: HD Motori
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