By Dominic Chopping
Jeep-maker Stellantis and Chinese auto manufacturer Leapmotor plan to expand an existing partnership as they seek to increase production of electric vehicles in Europe.
Stellantis said it acquired a stake of approximately 21% in the Chinese EV maker in 2023 and the companies formed a joint venture to sell and produce Leapmotor cars outside China. Under plans announced Friday, they will broaden the collaboration to include moves that will both boost production and lower costs.
In Spain, they are assessing increased manufacturing at a Stellantis plant in Zaragoza, where a production line could be added to build a new electric sport-utility vehicle, or SUV, from Stellantis's Opel brand. Leapmotor could also produce its C-SUV B10 model at the plant, allowing efficiencies from component sharing.
Production of the B10 could start this year while the Opel SUV could begin production in 2028.
At the same time, the Stellantis plant in Villaverde, Madrid, could start production of a new Leapmotor vehicle in 2028, helping to fill capacity following the planned end of production of the Citroen C4 at the site. Talks are continuing over potentially transferring ownership of the Villaverde site into the Spanish subsidiary of the Stellantis and Leapmotor joint venture, they said.
The two companies also plan to cooperate on joint purchasing to boost price competitiveness, strengthen supply chain resilience and accelerate time-to-market for new models.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-08-26 0321ET
