Encourage Global Expansion Of Electric Cars, Stellantis Becomes One Of The Important Owners Of Leapmotor

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO with Zhu Jiangming, Leapmotor Founder. (Doc. Stellantis)

JAKARTA - Stellantis announced a massive investment of around 1.5 billion euros or approximately IDR 25 trillion to acquire around 20% of Leapmotor's shares, so Stellantis is now an important shareholder.

The deal also includes the establishment of Leapmotor International, a joint venture led by Stellantis with a composition of 51/49, which has exclusive rights to export, sale, and manufacturing of Leapmotor products outside China's Greater region.

This agreement will be the first global electric vehicle relationship in the industry between leading automakers and original producers of NEV (New Energy Vehicles) from China.

It is known, Leapmotor is the world's first pure EV company to massively implement Cell-to-Chassis technology, and its latest 'Four-Leaf Clover' Leap 3.0 electric and electronic architecture. Its Leap 3.0 achieves a smooth and efficient collaboration among the core components of smart electric cars. Its unique vertical integration model maximizes scalability, allowing Leapmotor to quickly respond to customer needs.

With a focus on the medium to upper market, which is the largest and fastest growing segment in China, Leapmotor managed to deliver around 111,000 NEV units by 2022, placing them at the top of the ranks among pure electric vehicle manufacturers in China. In the next three years, the Leapmotor product plan will cover the entire range of segments A to E, based on a technical architecture with three highly scalable platforms with the BEV powertrain and Range Extender EV.

The partnership aims to accelerate sales of Leapmotor in China, the world's largest market, while leveraging Stellantis' established global commercial presence to significantly increase sales of the Leapmotor brand in other regions, starting with Europe.

Stellantis plans to use China's innovative and cost-efficient EV Leapmotor ecosystem to help achieve the Dare Forward 2030 electrification target, with the possibility of exploring further beneficial synergies. The joint venture is expected to begin shipping products in the second half of 2024.

The two companies consider Leapmotor electric vehicle products as a complement to the iconic brand technology and portfolio owned by Stellantis, and will bring more affordable mobility solutions for global customers. Stellantis will get two seats on the Leapmotor Board of Directors and will appoint the CEO of the Leapmotor International joint venture.

"Along with the consolidation that occurs among electric vehicle startups capable of China, it is becoming increasingly clear that some new generation of EV players who are efficient and agile, such as Leapmotor, will dominate the main segment in China," said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, on the company's website, October 26.

Tavares also added that this is the right time to take an important role in supporting Lapmotor's global expansion plan, as the most impressive new EV player, who has a technology-front and entrepreneurial mindset similar to Stellantis.

Through this investment, Tavares hopes to overcome the void in Stellantis' business model and benefit from the competitiveness of Leapmotors both in China and outside China.

"Today is a great milestone for Leapmotor, and I am very happy to be able to witness this moment. Developed with our complete in-house technology capabilities, Leapmotor presents the best class EV products to the market in the most cost-competitive way possible," said Leapmotor Founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming.

Jiangming also believes that in mutual benefits will be formed and by working with Stellantis, Leapmotor will continue to innovate and be creative in technology and business synergies, and will bring Leapmotor electric cars to the global market.

Founded in early 2021, but combining more than a century of experience, Stellantis has 14 iconic automotive brands and two mobility businesses aimed at providing free, clean, safe, and affordable mobility freedoms for all, with industry operations in more than 30 countries and customers of more than 130 markets.