Stellantis will have another brand for low-cost EVs, top executive says

TURIN – Stellantis will broaden its offering of low-priced battery-electric vehicles with models from Leapmotor starting late next year in Europe.

After Stellantis' deal to buy a stake in the Chinese electric vehicle maker, Stellantis now has another brand aimed at consumers "who are cost conscious but want the best technology in their products," CFO Natalie Knight said.

Stellantis and Leapmotor are establishing a joint venture incorporated in the Netherlands for the export and sale of Leapmotor's models outside China.

Knight said Europe will be the first market for Leapmotor's EVs. The JV will also distribute Leapmotor products to other global markets, Knight said on Tuesday on the automaker’s third-quarter results call.

Stellantis will invest about 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to acquire a 20 percent equity stake in Leapmotor's parent company. The two companies will set up a Dutch-based joint venture called Leapmotor International. Stellantis will control it with a 51 percent stake.

The joint venture targets 500,000 sales outside of China by 2030, according to Stellantis's third-quarter results presentation, which also said that Leapmotor aims to sell 1 million units annually in China long term.

Stellantis on Tuesday said its global BEV sales grew 37 percent in the third quarter, mainly driven by the Jeep Avenger battery-electric small crossover and higher light commercial vehicle sales led by the Citroen e-Berlingo.

"We are on track to exceed 300,000 BEV vehicles globally this year, Knight said, adding that the automaker is one of the top performers in Europe.

According to figures from Dataforce, Volkswagen Group is Europe's top EV seller and also leads overall vehicle sales. In BEV sales, Tesla is No. 2 ahead of Stellantis at No. 3.

Knight is confident the new Citroen e-C3, starting at 23,300 euros in France and Germany, will reinforce Stellantis's position in small electric car sales.

The cooperation with Leapmotor permits Stellantis to broaden its benchmarking on BEV production, she said.

"Working with Leapmotor, we will be able to have even better real time benchmarks, so that we are always aware of what it takes to win against the best competitors in the market," Knight said.

Stellantis is already competitive on BEV costs, Knight said, adding that the e-C3 will be profitable from the start.

She said Stellantis is continuously looking for ways to reduce EV's high costs. CEO Carlos Tavares has said producing a BEV costs about 40 percent more than corresponding internal combustion models.

Knight said Stellantis continuously considers how it can innovate quickly, how it can bring more verticalization to its processes and how to better use low-cost countries.

"Those are things that you have seen very successfully as part of our DNA,” she said, adding that benchmarking with Leapmotor “will add another dimension -- the agile environment of the Chinese ecosystem."