Stellantis Bets on Leapmotor in EV Strategy

• Leapmotor, backed by Stellantis, brings its latest vehicles to the Paris auto show after establishing a sales and manufacturing presence in Europe.

• The Leapmotor T03 electric hatch is now produced at Fiat's plant in Tychy, Poland, for the European market.

• The threat of tariffs in the EU aimed at Chinese vehicles looms over the region, just as a number of automakers have set up sales and service networks in the bloc.

Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat parent company Stellantis may have no shortage of EV offerings in Europe at the moment, including the first electric Jeep model that skipped North America completely, but its stable of brands is deeper than that. And now it includes Leapmotor, a Chinese automaker established in 2015 in which Stellantis owns a stake.

Much of the EV buzz at the Paris auto show this month has been upstaged by news of impending European Union tariffs on electric cars from China, just days after the US imposed 100% tariffs on its own. The plans of the EU are nowhere as drastic, but they are still expected to present a challenge to a number of brands with a newly established presence in Europe.

How is Stellantis planning to navigate this evolving EV landscape after taking a $1.6 billion stake in Leapmotor in October of 2023?

In a short span of time Stellantis has already launched production of one Leapmotor model in Europe, bringing the bubble-shaped T03 to its longtime Fiat plant in Tychy, Poland. Production in the EU makes the small EV immune to tariffs, while also giving Stellantis a model positioned well below the Fiat 500e in price.

But commuter EVs with the styling of the Mitsubishi Mirage aren't the only models Leapmotor has in its lineup. The A12 SUV is expected to join the bubble car in Tychy next year.

Leapmotor brought the B10 electric SUV to the Paris auto show, using the event to unveil one of its next models that should draw plenty of EV shoppers in Europe.

Designed for global markets from the start, the B10 is expected to be offered both as a BEV and as a range-extended EV helped by a tiny 1.5-liter gasoline engine.

The model is expected to carry a starting price of just $14,000 in China, which will likely see a bump when it reaches Europe next year. But it should still be able to occupy an advantageous position in a market straining from high-priced offerings.

"Leapmotor International may be a start-up, but it’s a start-up with two incredibly strong parents," said Tianshu Xin, CEO of Leapmotor International. "One brings innovation and competitive pricing to the table, while the other—through our partnership with Stellantis—offers powerful global resources and an unmatched service infrastructure.

As of late last month Leapmotor already had 200 dealers in 13 European countries, and aims to hit 500 by the end of 2025. This will give Leapmotor a vast sales network virtually overnight, at a time when many Chinese brands are facing stronger headwinds in Europe.

And more models are on the way to fill out other price points, including the C10 midsize crossover that went on sale in Europe last month.

Stellantis is by no means the sole European automaker to have formed a joint venture with one of China's, but its rapid and risky effort to bring Leapmotor's lineup to Europe has given it a temporary edge over some rivals in what has been a rocky few years for the automaker, an edge that is expected to extend into other regions including South America and the Middle East.

Time will tell if Stellantis' gamble will pay off, but for now it has managed to boost its global offerings in a crucial price category.

Will EVs from Chinese brands eventually be offered stateside, or will a combination of business and political factors keep them out? Let us know what you think in the comments below.