Betting on a Chinese company to win? Click for more.
Stellantis* and Leapmotor** have announced that Stellantis plans to invest €1.5 billion to acquire ~20% of Leapmotor, making Stellantis a significant shareholder. The deal also outlines the formation of Leapmotor International, a 51/49% Stellantis-led joint venture that has exclusive rights for the export and sale, as well as manufacturing, of Leapmotor products outside Greater China. The move is not without its critics because it ties Stellantis to a company controlled by the Chinese communist party. Stellantis had previously stopped making vehicles in China. (AutoInformed: Tilt! Stellantis and GAC to Stop Jeep China JV)
“As consolidation unfolds among the capable electric vehicles start-ups in China, it becomes increasingly apparent that a handful of efficient and agile new generation EV players, like Leapmotor, will come to dominate the mainstream segments in China,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
“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. I want to thank Mr. Zhu Jiangming and the teams from both sides of our great companies for their leadership and collaboration in creating this new opportunity for both of us,” Tavares claimed.
Stellantis also claims that this will be an industry-first global electric vehicle relationship between a leading automaker and a Chinese NEV OEM. The partnership aims to further increase Leapmotor’s sales in China, the biggest market in the world, while using Stellantis’ established global commercial presence to accelerate Leapmotor brand sales in other regions, starting with Europe. The UAW, currently, striking an extremely profitable, US truck plant at Stellantis over the EV future, has yet to be heard from. (AutoInformed: UAW On Strike at Stellantis Sterling Heights RAM Plant)
Stellantis intends to leverage Leapmotor’s “cost-efficient EV ecosystem in China to help meet core Dare Forward 2030 electrification targets, with the possibility to further explore mutually beneficial synergies. The joint venture expects to begin shipments in the second half of 2024.”
* Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP)
** Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd (9863.HK)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Stellantis Invests in Chinese Leapmotor to Expand EV Sales
Betting on a Chinese company to win? Click for more.
Stellantis* and Leapmotor** have announced that Stellantis plans to invest €1.5 billion to acquire ~20% of Leapmotor, making Stellantis a significant shareholder. The deal also outlines the formation of Leapmotor International, a 51/49% Stellantis-led joint venture that has exclusive rights for the export and sale, as well as manufacturing, of Leapmotor products outside Greater China. The move is not without its critics because it ties Stellantis to a company controlled by the Chinese communist party. Stellantis had previously stopped making vehicles in China. (AutoInformed: Tilt! Stellantis and GAC to Stop Jeep China JV)
“As consolidation unfolds among the capable electric vehicles start-ups in China, it becomes increasingly apparent that a handful of efficient and agile new generation EV players, like Leapmotor, will come to dominate the mainstream segments in China,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
“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. I want to thank Mr. Zhu Jiangming and the teams from both sides of our great companies for their leadership and collaboration in creating this new opportunity for both of us,” Tavares claimed.
Stellantis also claims that this will be an industry-first global electric vehicle relationship between a leading automaker and a Chinese NEV OEM. The partnership aims to further increase Leapmotor’s sales in China, the biggest market in the world, while using Stellantis’ established global commercial presence to accelerate Leapmotor brand sales in other regions, starting with Europe. The UAW, currently, striking an extremely profitable, US truck plant at Stellantis over the EV future, has yet to be heard from. (AutoInformed: UAW On Strike at Stellantis Sterling Heights RAM Plant)
Stellantis intends to leverage Leapmotor’s “cost-efficient EV ecosystem in China to help meet core Dare Forward 2030 electrification targets, with the possibility to further explore mutually beneficial synergies. The joint venture expects to begin shipments in the second half of 2024.”
* Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP)
** Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies Ltd (9863.HK)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.