Stellantis To Invest €1.5 Billion Into China’s Leapmotor; To Lead New Joint Venture For Global Markets

Auto giant Stellantis has announced plans to invest €1.5 billion (approximately Rs 13,167.47 crore) into Chinese EV manufacturer Leapmotor for a roughly 20 per cent stake in the company. The two manufacturers will also partner to set up a new joint venture that will allow Leapmotor to expand its reach into markets outside the Greater China region. The joint venture will be called Leapmotor International with Stellantis owning a 51 per cent stake in the business.

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Speaking on the announcement Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said, “We feel it’s the perfect time to take a leading role in supporting the global expansion plans of Leapmotor, one of the most impressive new EV players who has a similar tech-first, entrepreneurial mindset to ours. Through this strategic investment, we can address a white space in our business model and benefit from Leapmotor’s competitiveness both in China and abroad.”

Leapmotor C01 electric sedan

Under the partnership, Leapmotor will use Stellantis’ established global network to accelerate its expansion in markets outside China while the latter will leverage Leapmotor’s EV ecosystem to meet its Dare Forward 2030 electrification targets. The target under Dare Forward 2030 calls for Stellantis to achieve 100 per cent sales from battery electric vehicles in Europe by 2030 and 50 per cent sales in Europe.

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The two companies could deepen ties going forward and explore greater synergies in the future. The partnership expects to commence export and sales of Leapmotor’s portfolio in the second half of 2024.

The investment into Leapmotor will also enable Stellantis to take two seats in the company’s board of directors.

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The Chinese EV firm was founded back in 2015 with its first electric car going on sale in China in 2019. The carmaker currently offers a three-model portfolio in its home market with total sales amounting to 1.11 lakh units last year. The carmaker has however revealed that it plans to expand its portfolio over the next three years to cover a range of segments from A to E based on three scalable platforms with pure EV and range extender EV powertrains.