During the Paris Auto Show on October 14, Chinese electric vehicle brand Leap Motor announced ambitious plans to establish 500 sales points in the European market by 2025. The company also aims to expand its operations into the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and South America starting in the fourth quarter of 2024. Leap Motor is set to leverage the extensive service network of Stellantis, a major European automotive giant that has become one of its partners.
Stellantis, which owns several well-known brands like Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Opel, began its collaboration with Leap Motor in October 2023, investing approximately €1.5 billion (around $1.63 billion) to acquire about 21% of Leap Motor’s shares.
In an interview, Leap Motor’s founder and chairman, Zhu Jiangming, emphasized the advantages of partnering with Stellantis, highlighting the company’s global network of over 100,000 sales channels and service systems, including essential parts distribution for after-sales support. Leap Motor is set to enter the European market in September 2024 with the launch of two vehicle models. Zhu expressed hopes of establishing 300 stores across Europe by the end of 2024, noting that achieving this through independent localization efforts would be challenging. He believes that working with Stellantis is the quickest and most resource-efficient way to enter overseas markets, minimizing obstacles related to finance and insurance systems.
Since the European Union voted on October 4 to impose countervailing duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles, discussions between China and Europe are ongoing, with significant disagreements still present. Zhu mentioned that the vehicle models launched in Europe in September have been priced with these potential tariffs in mind, sacrificing a considerable amount of profit. He stressed that for car manufacturers looking to sell extensively overseas, local production is the only viable approach, regardless of tariff implications.
Stellantis had previously disclosed in June that it successfully conducted trial production of a Leap Motor model at its factory in Poland. At that time, Stellantis stated that Leap Motor products could be manufactured in any of its global plants. As of now, neither party has provided further details. However, Leap Motor’s Senior Vice President, Cao Li, noted that the EU tariff situation is complex. Even if manufacturers produce locally, they must adhere to specific local content standards to potentially avoid tariffs, and these details are yet to be clarified.
