Stellantis relocating Chinese EV maker Leapmotor's European production from Poland
Mainland electric vehicle (EV) maker Leapmotor's European production is expected to be moved to a Stellantis factory in Spain, Germany, Italy or Slovakia after the Dutch firm stopped making its Chinese partner's cars
in Poland earlier this year.
Advertisement
Leapmotor and Stellantis were likely to make a decision on the matter in June or July, with the goal of commencing production around the middle of next year, said Michael Wu, Leapmotor's co-president, in an interview on Monday. This was the first time the company revealed details about its decision-making timeline.
'The Poland factory simply assembled our vehicles using components made in China, which made it not exempt from tariffs,' Wu said. 'This time, we will use components produced locally [in Europe].'
The move was likely to drive up Leapmotor's European production costs by about 10 per cent, but it had no plans to raise prices, Wu said. The company's current overseas strategy is focused on expanding its sales and service network to drive up volume, he said.
By the end of 2025, the company expects that at least 10 per cent of its vehicles sold globally will come from outside China, Wu said. He added that the firm expects to report global vehicle sales of 500,000 to 600,000 units this year. In 2024, Leapmotor reported sales of 293,724 vehicles; around 4 per cent of that total came from outside China.
Advertisement
Leapmotor, based in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, started making its T03 EVs at Stellantis' plant in Tychy, Poland, in June 2024. It was Leapmotor's first production base in Europe. In May last year, the two companies set up a joint venture that gave Stellantis exclusive rights to build, export and sell Leapmotor products outside China.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese AR glasses maker Rokid prepares for global launch on AliExpress during 618 event
Rokid, a Chinese maker of augmented reality (AR) glasses, is set to launch its latest AR Spatial eyewear globally through Alibaba Group Holding 's AliExpress e-commerce platform, as the company pushes into overseas markets amid rising competition in the industry. The Hangzhou-based company will debut the glasses overseas on June 16 during the AliExpress 618 summer sale period this month, leveraging the e-commerce giant's 'BigSave' programme to offer a nearly US$100 discount, bringing the cost down to US$568 for a limited time, Rokid announced on Thursday. Alibaba owns the Post. The AR Spatial frames themselves weigh just 75 grams, but powering the glasses requires a portable hub containing a battery and a Qualcomm chip for handling spatial computing. The product allows three desktops to be viewed side by side and a 'cinema mode' that provides an experience the company likens to viewing a 300-inch screen. The partnership will see Rokid open an official store on AliExpress, joining other Chinese tech brands such as robotics maker Unitree , consumer electronics firm Anker, Labubu retailer Pop Mart , computer maker Lenovo Group , and smartphone giant Xiaomi in the BigSave initiative. The programme, launched last year, aims to help 1,000 brands surpass US$1 million in overseas sales this year, according to Alibaba. Rokid AR Spatial glasses can display three desktop environments at a time. Photo: Rokid 'Chinese brands going global often face challenges such as low brand awareness and high marketing costs,' said Shao Huaqiang, international business head at Rokid.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US retailers demand Chinese firms pay shipping costs as trade pressure grows
US retail giants are demanding that their Chinese suppliers split or even bear the full cost of shipping goods across the Pacific, as freight rates skyrocket amid the disruption caused by the trade war, sources at Chinese export firms told the Post. Advertisement The move is the latest sign of the intense pressure America's biggest retailers are putting on Chinese factories to absorb more of the additional costs created by the trade war, with the companies facing calls at home to 'eat the tariffs'. Until recently, it was standard practice for major American retailers to pay the full cost of shipping goods from China to the United States, with the companies able to leverage long-standing relationships with global shipping firms to keep costs low, sources from exporters in eastern China's Zhejiang province said. But that is now changing. Factories in Zhejiang supplying the US' 'dominant' hypermarket chains are now having to foot part – or, in some cases, all – of the cost of transporting goods to America, according to the sources. Stage Group, a leading garment maker from Zhejiang, has been paying the logistics costs on 60 per cent of its US-bound shipments since the end of May, a sales representative from the company said. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China's Unitree eyes pre-IPO fundraising, valuing robot maker up to US$2 billion: report
Advertisement Hangzhou -based Unitree's latest financing initiative would value the company between 10 billion yuan and 15 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion and US$2.1 billion), Chinese digital media outlet Sohu Tech reported on Friday, citing sources. That would follow Unitree's restructuring last week, when it changed from a limited liability company into a joint stock limited firm, according to Chinese corporate database Tianyancha. A joint stock limited structure lets a company issue and transfer shares, allowing it to raise more capital as it scales up its operations. This move appears to put the firm another step closer to going public on mainland China's stock exchanges. In a letter to business partners, Unitree said the conversion into a joint stock limited company was done to address the firm's 'development needs', according to a report by the state-owned financial newspaper Securities Times. Advertisement Unitree did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday about its latest effort to generate new investment.
