Leapmotor: Stellantis’ Chinese battering ram in Europe

Business

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FIFTEENTH MARK OF STELLANTIS – In the series, if we can’t win against our enemy, let’s make him a friend. And that’s what the group did Stellar when in October 2023 it purchased 20% of the Chinese company Leap motor for 1.5 billion (Who the news). The strategy of the Franco-Italian group is to use the Leapmotor brand on the European market and challenge the cheaper brands, first of all Dacia. The two companies founded Leapmotor International, of which Stellantis holds 51% of the shares and which will allow it to build, export and sell Leapmotor products outside of China. We could therefore define Leapmotor as the fifteenth brand of the group, with a lower positioning than that of Fiat and Citroën. But the numbers are ambitiousin fact the joint venture expects to be able to sell 500,000 units per year by 2030.

> In the photos above the 362 cm long T03 electric city car, which promises a range of 280 km in the WLTP cycle.

MINICAR AND SUV – The first vehicle to come out of this joint venture will be the electric minicar T03, which will be assembled in Poland. The second model to land on the European market should be the Q10, a 4.75 meter long SUV available in both 100% electric and hybrid versions. Both models will be approved for Europe by this summer and Leapmotor International should start selling its cars as early as the second half of 2024 with dedicated spaces in Stellantis’ traditional sales channels. Two more minicars are in development but are not expected to launch before the end of the year.

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> In the photo above the C11 SUV.

GROWING SALES – In the long run, the Leap motor it will cover different segments of SUVs and crossovers. The brand’s range also includes medium-sized SUVs C11, which in the electric versions has a range of 650 km, but which in China is also available in a plug-in hybrid version. Then there are the low cost SUVs C16 and the midsize sedan C01, both shown at the recent Beijing Motor Show. In 2023, Leapmotor in China sold 144,000 cars, but already this year the forecast is to deliver between 250,000 and 300,000 cars. The company narrowed its losses to $126 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

> Above is the new Leapmotor C16, a 491 cm long SUV.