Leapmotor: „Wir setzen nicht einfach Teile zusammen, die aus China kommen“
Der chinesische Autobauer fertigt über ein Joint Venture Fahrzeuge beim Partner Stellantis. Leapmotor-International-Chef Danilo Annese erklärt, wie es mit „Made in Europe“ weitergehen soll.
Leapmotor, a Chinese automaker, is set to begin production in Europe for the first time, with a Spanish Stellantis factory in Saragossa now manufacturing the popular Leapmotor B10 compact SUV. Leapmotor International CEO Danilo Annese told Handelsblatt that Europe is the most important market for Leapmotor outside of China. Leapmotor is a joint venture between European automotive giant Stellantis (51 percent) and Chinese manufacturer Leapmotor (49 percent).
The collaboration aims to boost Stellantis' plant efficiency and provide Leapmotor with access to the latter's technologies. Leapmotor's success in Europe has been attributed to Stellantis' marketing and distribution structures. Leapmotor has grown rapidly in the EU, selling nearly 10,000 cars between January and September – a 250 percent increase over the same period last year, and over 400 percent compared to 2025, representing a market share of around one percent.
Germany is also a growing market, with Leapmotor's market share at 0.7 percent and sales increasing by more than 250 percent over the previous year to over 16,000 units. Leapmotor benefits from Germany's government electric car incentives, ranking fourth in the most subsidized brands with nearly 6,000 approvals as of October 1st.
Leapmotor and Stellantis are also planning to produce the Opel B05 compact car in the Saragossa factory starting in the first quarter of 2027. Leapmotor stresses that the B10 is a European production, as it is assembled, painted, and built in Spain. Leapmotor and Stellantis will comply with EU regulations, ensuring that the vehicles are not merely assembled with parts imported from China.
The EU's Industrial Accelerator Act is significant for Leapmotor, as foreign investment in the EU can create jobs and facilitate knowledge exchange. Leapmotor expects more production in other European Stellantis factories, potentially in Spain or other countries. Leapmotor's expansion in Europe is creating 400 jobs and 50 in the joint battery assembly plant in Mallén, Spain.
Leapmotor's partnership with Stellantis is an integrated process, with constant exchange between the companies' engineers.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
