Stellantis becomes a partner of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Leapmotor with a $1 billion investment!

Stellantis will invest approximately 1 billion dollars in return for a 20% stake in Leapmotor according to Bloomberg.

Leapmotor and Stellantis were previously rumored to establish a partnership to develop and produce electric vehicles. Both companies will cooperate in both Europe and China if this investment materializes.

Stellantis announced two weeks ago that it would completely transfer its automotive activities in China to Dongfeng Motor. They complained that they could not compete in this giant market against Chinese companies.

Leapmotor was founded in 2015 with the support of Dahua, a global giant operating in the security camera and equipment sector. Apart from the T03 sold in Turkey, the company produces and sells vehicles such as the electric sedan C01 and the European homologated electric SUV C10, which attract attention with their aerodynamic design, chassis-integrated battery, and highly efficient electronic architecture.

It was known that Leapmotor wanted to accelerate its overseas expansion because sales figures were below expectations due to high competition in China. The Zhejiang-based company will be able to expand its sales and marketing operations to a wider geography thanks to the Stellantis partnership. The company directly targets the European market with the C10.

With this investment, Stellantis will develop affordable Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Jeep, and Fiat brand electric vehicles and offer them to customers both in China and Europe.