As Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa reworks the company’s business structure, the company is looking to work with China EV maker Leapmotor to use its technology in the production of an Opel-branded SUV in Spain.
Stellantis plans to build a new EV at the Opel facility in Zaragoza, Spain, which currently produces the Opel Corsa EV, according to Reuters. If the deal can be completed, using Leapmotor’s technology would cut the time needed to develop a new electric vehicle from scratch.
Saving money is certainly on the Stellantis business agenda after it took a nearly $26 billion charge in 2025 against losses from its electric vehicle operations. An influx of Chinese EVs in Europe is providing the urgency needed to move quickly and nimbly to keep a foothold in the European EV market.
The new vehicle would share common architecture with Leapmotor’s B10 compact SUV, Reuters reported. Most of the development efforts would be handled in China as well. Choosing Leapmotor to help with this project makes sense, since Stellantis is a major shareholder in the company.
Stellantis spent about $2 billion for a 20 percent stake in October 2023, which included the creation of a new joint venture, Leapmotor International, to manufacture the EV makers products outside of China.
Discussions about that have been ongoing as well, as Stellantis looks for ways to be a players in the EV market in Europe, without replaying the scenario it just completed with the massive write-down from last year. A subcompact EV could be produced on a separate production line at the Zaragoza plant as well, Reuters reported.
There is no word about any of these technologies or vehicles from Leapmotor eventually finding their way into the U.S. market in the next few years.
While the investment was aimed at boosting Leapmotor’s sales in its home country, it also gave Stellantis access to the EV maker’s technology. “Stellantis intends to leverage Leapmotor’s highly innovative, cost-efficient EV ecosystem in China to help meet core Dare Forward 2030 electrification targets, with the possibility to further explore mutually beneficial synergies,” Stellantis said in a release announcing the deal in 2023.
[Images: Stellantis]
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