Stellantis will begin sales of Chinese automaker Leapmotor's all-electric cars in nine European markets in September. The countries will be Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece and Romania. Sales in the United Kingdom will begin in March 2025. Denmark and Switzerland will also be added, Leapmotor CEO Tianshu Xin told reporters during a media event on Tuesday, without giving a date.
“We do not intend to leave the market price range of 20,000 euros to our Chinese competitors,” stated the general director of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, at the same event. «Whether I like it or not, Chinese manufacturers are gaining share in Europe. “I'm trying to be opportunistic and take advantage of a dynamic that already exists.”
Leapmotor cars
Stellantis will sell a small car and a midsize SUV in Europe through 200 dealers initially, increasing to 500 dealers in 2026.
Leapmotor T03
The T03 will be sold below the price of Stellantis' Citroën e-C3, whose next entry-level version will start at 19,990 euros. With a range of 265 km, it will be positioned below the more premium Fiat 500e, from the Fiat de Stellantis brand, according to Tavares.
Its main rival in the market is the Dacia Spring, which costs around €20,000 (and is imported to Europe from China) and we hope that BYD will soon bring the Seagull to Europe, below the Dolphin in size and price.
Leapmotor C10
In this case it is a compact-sized electric SUV with 420 km of autonomy, a rival to the Tesla Model Y or the Volkswagen ID.4. It is based on Leapmotor's LEAP 3.0 architecture… and importing the plug-in hybrid version that is sold in China is being considered, according to Tavares.
Sale and after-sale
Sales will initially be carried out through the Stellantis & You dealer network, and Leapmotor, which will be added as another brand to the Stellantis multi-brand dealers. Leapmotor has been described by Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight as the fifteenth mark of the company.
Leapmotor will partner with Stellantis to ensure parts are readily available to facilitate repairs, a common problem for new brands using components that have a long journey to reach European repair shops.
“We will ensure that consumers are never stuck with vehicles waiting for parts that arrive from far away,” Tavares said. The parts will be distributed from Stellantis' 130 after-sales centers in Europe. For now, Stellantis and Leapmotor's agreement does not include sharing technology, but they will consider joint sourcing of parts with Leapmotor.
What if there are finally tariffs on Chinese cars?
The Stellantis-Leapmotor partnership comes just as China is being investigated by the European Union and imposing tariffs is being considered. If this increase in import rates to very high levels occurs or non-tariff barriers are raised, the Leapmotors could be manufactured in Europe.
In that case, the Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, could be a possible production site, Tavares said. In this way it would be added to the plant that BYD is building in Hungary or the one that Chery is preparing at the Nissan factory in Barcelona.
Stellantis owns 51 percent of Leapmotor International (based in Amsterdam) while Leapmotor holds the remaining 49 percent. This company will focus on South America, the Middle East and Africa, and the India and Asia Pacific regions starting in the fourth quarter of 2024. Tavares said they have no plans to sell Leapmotor cars in the US as they are betting on very strong protectionism.
