Portugal will be one of the first markets to be targeted by Leapmotor International, the new automobile brand resulting from the joint venture led by Stellantis with the Chinese Leap Motor (51%-49%).
In October 2023, Stellantis acquired 20% of Leapmotor to have a stronger presence in the Chinese market, but also to secure exclusive rights for export, sale and manufacture of the Leap motor models outside of China.
At a press conference held in China last week, the plans for expansion of Leapmotor International were revealed by Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, and Zhu Jiangming, founder, president and chief executive officer of Leapmotor.
“The creation of Leapmotor International represents a major breakthrough in helping to solve the pressing issue of global warming with state-of-the-art electric vehicles”, Tavares said.
The global expansion announced will begin in Europe from next September, but promises to quickly reach other regions of the world in the last quarter of the year: India, Asia-Pacific (excluding China), the Middle East, Africa and South America.
Detailing the expansion plan for Europe, in September Leapmotor International will initially reach nine countries, including Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Romania, Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands (the new company headquarters is in Amsterdam).
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The launch of Leapmotor International in Europe will be based on Stellantis’ extensive distribution network, with 200 points of sale. The number will rise to 500 by 2026.
The first two models coming to the European market will be the T03, which will meet the need for cheap electric cars, but the larger C10 (pictured above) will race in the top tier.
Zhu Jiangming, the “master” of the brand, indicated that among the main competitors of the C10 are the Tesla Model Y and the Volkswagen ID.4, the ones that sell the most in their segment.
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