Stellantis to build Leapmotor EVs in Europe, expanding its 21% pact

Stellantis NV is deepening its partnership with China’s Leapmotor, using its Spanish factories to build Leapmotor-designed electric vehicles for the European market and co-developing an Opel SUV to accelerate its push into affordable EVs. The move, announced Friday, marks one of the most significant instances of a legacy Western automaker turning to a Chinese rival for technology and manufacturing speed to compete in its own territory.

"This plan to expand our successful partnership with Leapmotor... is a true win-win for both of us," Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said, framing the deal as a way to advance the "localization in Europe of world-class manufacturing of electric vehicles at affordable prices to meet customers’ real-world needs."

The expanded deal will see Stellantis’s Zaragoza plant in Spain produce Leapmotor’s B10 compact SUV and a new, jointly-developed Opel C-SUV, which could enter production by 2028. The partnership builds on Stellantis's October 2023 acquisition of a 21% stake in Leapmotor and the creation of a 51-49 joint venture, Leapmotor International, which has already shipped over 40,000 EVs in Europe during 2025.

For Stellantis (STLA), this is a strategic pivot to combat the growing influence of Chinese EV makers in Europe by adopting their technology and speed. The move aims to slash development time—down to a reported 24 months for the new Opel—and costs, directly targeting mass-market bestsellers like the Volkswagen Tiguan and creating a potential blueprint for future collaborations.

A Blueprint for European Production

The core of the agreement centers on leveraging Stellantis’s existing industrial footprint in Europe. Opel engineers have already begun co-developing the new mid-size electric SUV with their Leapmotor counterparts, a vehicle explicitly designed to compete with models like the Volkswagen AG’s Tiguan and Hyundai’s Tucson.

"We plan to combine the hardware and software skills of both worlds to build a car Opel will manufacture in Europe," Opel CEO Florian Huettl said in an interview. This approach, with Leapmotor leading on the electric drivetrain and battery systems, is expected to result in a more affordable model than one developed solely in Germany.

The two groups are also exploring transferring ownership of the Stellantis Villaverde plant near Madrid to the joint venture, a move that could pave the way for producing multiple Leapmotor models there and help Stellantis meet stricter European Union rules on local manufacturing.

The Numbers Behind the Partnership

The expanded partnership is built on the early success of the Leapmotor International joint venture. Since its formation after Stellantis’s €1.5 billion investment for a 21 percent stake in Leapmotor, the venture has established more than 850 points of sale and service across Europe.

The collaboration comes as Stellantis posts strong financial results, with Q1 net revenue jumping 6 percent year-over-year to €38.1 billion, driven by solid sales volumes. By integrating Leapmotor’s cost-competitive components, Stellantis aims to protect and grow its mass-market brands like Opel in the face of intense price pressure from Chinese imports.

The strategy reflects a broader industry shift, where legacy automakers are increasingly looking to partnerships to navigate the costly and complex transition to electric vehicles. For Stellantis, the Leapmotor deal provides a crucial shortcut, allowing it to quickly bring an affordable EV to market while potentially serving as a model for future alliances with other Chinese automakers. The move is a clear acknowledgment that in the race to affordable EVs, Chinese technology may be a key to survival.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.