Stellantis Opens European Order Books for Chinese-Built BEVs

Stellantis launches its joint venture with a Chinese automaker to import bargain-basement battery-electric vehicles into Europe.

While the European Union is expected to ratify proposed punitive tariffs on vehicles imported from China later this week, Stellantis is confident its Leapmotor International brand will manage to market its T03 urban BEV at just €18,900 ($20,990) even with a 17.7% tariff applied on top of the standard 10% tariff on vehicles from third-party countries.

Stellantis, majority owner of Leapmotor, will also start marketing a larger Leapmotor SUV model, the C10, next month that is expected to be priced from €36,400 ($40,425).

Industry analysts believe the initial imports are a holding exercise to get the brand into Stellantis’ dealership networks ahead of assembling the cars from knocked-down kits possibly at the automaker’s Poland plant which has already tested assembly processes.

Leapmotor International becomes Stellantis’ 15th brand and CEO Carlos Tavares is so confident of winning a competitive advantage over other European legacy brands that he has broken ranks from their calls to the EU to delay tightening CO2 tailpipe emissions targets due at the end of 2025.

Budget BEV

The T03 features an electric powertrain developed in-house by Leapmotor and features a 37.3-kWh battery which claims a 164-mile (265-km) range on the WLTP combined cycle and up to 245 miles (395 km) on the urban cycle.

Its motor claims a maximum power of 94 hp and a maximum torque of 116 lb.-ft. (157 Nm). The vehicle will provide three drive modes: comfort, standard and sport.

The T03 is compatible with Type 2 and CCS2 charging connectors and includes a 6.6-kW onboard charger and a maximum DC charging power of 48 kW. The home charging time from 30% to 80% is about 3.5 hours, while a DC-charging station requires just 36 minutes.

C10 SUV

This bigger model features an electric motor claiming a maximum power output of 218 hp and 236 lb.-ft. (320 Nm) of torque.

The company tells Wards the vehicle uses a 39.9-kWh battery pack and claims a range of 261 miles (420 km).

It is equipped with an 6.6-kW AC charger, which allows charging from 30% to 80% battery capacity in about 6 hours, while the DC system allows a fast charge in 30 minutes.