Italian automaker Stellantis contemplates forming a partnership with Chinese electric automaker Leapmotor to accelerate its expansion plans, Bloomberg News reports citing people familiar with the matter.
Report highlights
The report suggests that Stellantis may use an electric vehicle architecture from China to solidify its local presence.
The sources claim that Leapmotor is one of the strong candidates for the partnership. It must also be noted that the news emerged just three weeks after a local report on Volkswagen’s plans to partner with Leapmotor for an EV platform for the Jetta brand.
EV-a2z also reported VW’s recent partnership with China’s XPeng to use its Edward platform for the G9 and P7 models. It acquired a 4.99% share in the Chinese automaker for $700 million.
Audi also partnered with SAIC to advance its electrification efforts in the world’s largest automaker. The German brand aims to use SAIC’s next-gen EV platform for its EV offerings in China.
See Also:
- CEO Tavares: Stellantis may end China production
- Stellantis to launch more affordable, sub €25K Fiat EV
- Auto Supplier: China’s small EVs enjoy €10,000 cost advantage over European cars
- China’s EV market becomes a challenge for foreign joint ventures
- Stellantis introduces battery system that may pave the way for smaller and cheaper EV models
Foreign automakers’ high interest in the Chinese EV market is unsurprising as it is currently the biggest in the world. Its battery-powered vehicle sales surpassed 535,000 units in June alone, CAAM data revealed.
Moreover, China registered more than 2.55 million EVs in H1 2023, which industry leaders Tesla and BYD lead. That said, automakers are now striving to penetrate China as they aim to take a significant market share to ensure their business prospects.
