Stellantis sells its shares in three of its Chinese plants and creates a JV with Leapmotor
- The Stellantis group announced that it would acquire 20% of the Chinese carmaker Leapmotor with the aim of creating a JV owned at 51% by Stellantis and 49% by Leapmotor and which will sell the Chinese brand's models internationally. i.e. in global markets outside of China.
- Leapmotor is one of the Chinese brands recently created to invest in the battery electric vehicle market. Leapmotor's current range consists of three models, an A-segment sedan (T03), an E-segment sedan (C01) and a D-segment SUV (C11) but the carmaker's range is expected to expand over the coming months and the coming years, just like other Chinese carmakers specialized in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). In 2022, Leapmotor sold 111,168 BEVs in China, compared to 44,378 in 2021 and 11,391 in 2020. In 2023, Leapmotor should sell between 120,000 and 125,000 units. The carmaker's sales outside China have so far been nearly inexistent (223 units in Europe over the first 9 months of 2023).
- Stellantis, which sold only 129,088 vehicles in China in 2022, sold nearly 6 million vehicles in the rest of the world. Euro-Ameican carmaker no longer has any illusions about its presence on the Chinese market as it has just sold three of its share in plants located in China to Dongfeng (Wuhan, Chengdu, Xiangyang), its historical Chinese partner. The new joint venture created with Leapmotor will allow Stellantis to import this brand's models or produce them anywhere in the world. At the international level, it is a new brand which is added to the 14 currently active at Stellantis.