International. Leapmotor International, a 51/49 Stellantis Stellantis and Leapmotor company, revealed its expansion plans that will drive scale very quickly, helping to generate value for both Leapmotor and Stellantis.
Leapmotor International will begin operations in Europe by September 2024 through 200 outlets by the end of the year, with plans to expand to India and Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South America from the fourth quarter.
Stellantis N.V. and Leapmotor announced on May 23 that both companies have received all required authorizations and the formation of Leapmotor International B.V., a 51/49 joint venture led by Stellantis, is now complete.
Based in Amsterdam, the management team led by CEO Tianshu Xin, a former Stellantis China executive, is now laying the groundwork for a successful introduction of the T03 and C10 first in European markets and expanding to India and Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), the Middle East and Africa, and South America from the fourth quarter of 2024.
In October 2023, the two companies announced an investment by Stellantis of approximately €1.5 billion to acquire approximately 21% of the shares of Leapmotor, an automotive company ranked among the top three Chinese EV startup brands in 2023.
The agreement also outlined the formation of Leapmotor International, which would haveexclusive rights for the export and sale, as well as manufacturing, of Leapmotor products outside of Greater China. The partnership aims to further boost Leapmotor's sales in China, the world's largest market, leveraging Stellantis' established global business presence to significantly accelerate sales of the Leapmotor brand in other regions.
"The creation of Leapmotor International is a major step forward in helping to address the urgent issue of global warming with state-of-the-art BEV models that will compete with existing Chinese brands in key markets around the world," said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
"The partnership between Leapmotor and Stellantis demonstrates a high level of efficiency, opening a new chapter in the global integration of China's smart electric vehicle industry," said Leapmotor Founder, President and CEO Jiangming Zhu.
Leapmotor International's EV product offering is seen as complementary to Stellantis' current technology and portfolio of iconic brands and will bring more affordable mobility solutions to global customers. Leveraging Stellantis' distribution channels, the launch plan will start in Europe – France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, Romania from September 2024.
