Stellantis will bring budget Chinese electric vehicles to Europe in September through its joint venture with Leapmotor. Other regions, such as India, SEA, Middle East, Africa, and South America, will follow in the fourth quarter.
Leapmotor International is a joint venture (JV) between Chinese EV-builder Leapmotor and Stellantis. The latter holds 51%, while Leapmotor holds 49%. The JV plans to have 200 dealerships in nine European countries by the end of the year and expand to 500 in 2026.
The first cars the Stellantis-led JV will offer in Europe will be the Leapmotor T03 all-electric city car and the Leapmotor C10 mid-size SUV. The company also announced it will launch at least one new Leapmotor model annually in Europe over the next three years.
“We do not intend to leave the 20,000 EUR price band of the market to our Chinese competitors,” Tavares said on Tuesday. “You can expect the T03 would be priced below 20,000 euros in Europe”.
Leapmotor T03 will launch in September in nine EU countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Romania, Spain, Portugal, and France.
The JV “enables us to accelerate the way to go to market with smart and affordable EVs,” Tavares said on Tuesday at an official launch with Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming.
Leapmotor International will expand into India & Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America in the last quarter of 2024. Stellantis specifically mentioned that China is excluded as the JV has the exclusivity to sell Leapmotor EVs only outside China.
In October 2023, the two companies announced a Stellantis investment of €1.5 billion to acquire approximately 21% equity in Leapmotor, becoming its largest shareholder. Later it was announced that two companies will forme a JV which will have exclusive rights to sell and manufacture Leapmotor EVs outside China.
Leapmotor T03 is a small 5-door hatchback that starts at 49,900 yuan (6,900 USD) in China. The top trim has a 403 km CLTC range thanks to its 41.3 kWh LFP battery from Hive Energy.
The dimensions are 3620/1652/1592 mm, and the wheelbase is 2,400 mm. The gross weight is 1,490 kg. The trunk capacity is 210 liters and 508 liters with folded rear seats.
The EV is powered by a single front electric motor with an output of 80 kW (107 hp) and a peak torque of 158 Nm. The acceleration from 0-50 km/h is 4.1 seconds and from 0-100km/h is yes.
Leapmotor C10 is a mid-size SUV that starts at 128,800 yuan (17,800 USD) in China. It has two fuel type variants: all-electric and EREV. Stellantis will most likely bring only the all-electric version of C10 to Europe.
The top trim has a 530 km CLTC range and is equipped with a 69.9kWh battery from CALB.
The 5-door 5-seater SUV has dimensions 4739/1900/1680 mm and a wheelbase of 2,825 mm. The trunk capacity is 370 liters and 835 liters with folded rear seats.
Its 170 kW (228 hp) of power comes from a single rear motor; peak torque is 320 Nm. The top speed is 170 km/h, and 0-100 km/h acceleration is 7.3 seconds. The EV is equipped with lidar on the top of the windshield.
It was previously reported that Stealantis would assemble Leapmotor cars in Poland. During today’s ceremony, Tavares said Stellantis’ Polish plant in Tychy could be possible.
In China, Leapmotor delivered 144,155 vehicles in 2023, up 30% from 111,168 in 2022.
