Stellantis and Leapmotor have announced that the formation of the joint venture between the two firms, Leapmotor International is now complete as a 51/49 split led by Stellantis, following Stellantis’ investment of around 1.5 billion euro (RM7.6 billion) in October 2023 for the acquisition of a 21% equity in Leapmotor.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Leapmotor International has exclusive rights to the export and sale of Leapmotor products outside greater China, and the partnership aims to “further boost Leapmotor’s sales in China, the biggest market in the world, while leveraging Stellantis’ established global commercial presence to significantly accelerate Leapmotor brand sales in other regions,” according to the brand.
Launch plans for the Leapmotor brand will begin in Europe with nine countries; France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece and Romania, beginning in September this year each with dedicated country managers, and will reach 200 points of sales by the end of this year, and this will grow to 500 locations by 2026, according to the company.
Further expansion for the brand will come in late 2024, which will include Malaysia as part of its roll-out in the Middle East and Africa, India and Asia Pacific as well as South American regions.
The Leapmotor product roadmap begins with the T03 hatchback and C10 SUV, both among a slew of models that were shown at the recent Auto China 2024 in Beijing.
Leapmotor International describes the T03 as an “A-segment urban boutique commuter car with B-segment interior space”, rated with a range of 265 km on the WLTP testing standard, according to the brand.
Given Stellantis’ positioning of Leapmotor as an affordable EV offering among the brands it plans to introduce – and re-introduce – to Malaysia, the T03 would be the more likely candidate for its market arrival here.
From 2025 to 2027, Leapmotor International has indicated the introduction of another four models to its line-up in that time, with an SUV in 2025, followed by two hatchback models in 2026. The year after, 2027, will see the introduction of another SUV, according to its timeline.
The other SUV models from Leapmotor shown at the Beijing motor show, which could form part of the roll-out plan, include the C11 and C16 SUVs. Of those shown at Auto China 2024, notably absent from mention in this timeline is the C01 sedan.
“The creation of Leapmotor International is a great step forward in helping address the urgent global warming issue 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.
“Leveraging Leapmotor’s cutting-edge technology and products, along with Stellantis’ support in areas such as overseas channels, services, and marketing, we hope that users around the world can experience the exceptional driving and riding experience brought by Leapmotor products,” said Leapmotor founder, CEO and chairman Jiangming Zhu.
GALLERY: Leapmotor T03 at Auto China 2024, Beijing
GALLERY: Leapmotor C01 sedan; C10, C11, C16 SUVs at Auto China 2024, Beijing
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World’s biggest right hand drive market–>MY
wow.. bigger than UK, Japan and Thai market
focus your Peugeot first…
always dream big….