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Stellantis has «closed the binding agreement with Leapmotor, which was signed in October, just seven months after announcing it. I think this is important, everything was done very efficiently and effectively. Now we enter the operational phase of the agreement and planning, we will begin to export Leapmotor vehicles outside the Chinese market.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said this during the joint press conference with Zhu Jiangming, founder and CEO of Leapmotor. In October 2023 Stellantis became a strategic shareholder of Leapmotor with an investment of 1.5 billion euros, acquiring approximately 20% shareholding in the Chinese group. The agreement also included the establishment of Leapmotor International, a 51-49 joint venture led by Stellantis, with exclusive rights to export, sell and manufacture Leapmotor products outside the China region.
“We want it to be a success, the goal is to sell and produce Leapmotor vehicles outside of China, which is the aim of this joint venture, quickly bringing smart and accessible electric vehicles to the market,” said Tavares, explaining that the agreement will bring a series of benefits, both to Stellantis and Leapmotor. «The first is the acceleration with which we bring EV to the market, the second is that we provide excellent technologies, the best available, efficient from a cost point of view. The third point will be the fact that Stellantis will have the possibility to have other EVs available to put on the market, making progress in the execution of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan,” Tavares said.
The binding agreement between Stellantis and the Chinese Leapmotor, signed in October 2023, enters the operational phase and, starting from September, the Chinese group’s vehicles will begin to be sold in Europe. «We will begin by bringing Leapmotor vehicles to nine countries, including Italy, France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The sales plan will be supported by at least 200 sales points, Stellantis & You dealerships will be an integral part of this distribution. We will start in September 2024,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares during the joint press conference with Zhu Jiangming, founder and CEO of Leapmotor. «From the fourth quarter we will also enter other important regions, namely South America, a crucial region for Stellantis, then we will proceed with the Middle East and Africa, then with India and Asia Pacific. The launch will be conducted in a powerful and aggressive manner, we expect a significant boost to Leapmotor sales outside of China,” Tavares said.