Leapmotor and Stellantis open orders for budget EVs in Europe

China's Leapmotor is set to start taking orders in Europe for a city car and an SUV, the carmaker and its partner Stellantis said on Tuesday as they expand their budget electric vehicle (EV) offering in the region.

Stellantis holds a 51% stake in their Leapmotor International joint venture (JV) and has exclusive rights to build, export and sell Leapmotor products outside China in the first such arrangement for a legacy Western carmaker.

The T03 compact car will be available from the end of September with prices starting from €18,900 (R362,471) while the C10 SUV will be in dealerships in October starting from €36,400 (R700,027), the JV said.

The two models were showcased for the first time in Europe near Milan on Tuesday.

Initially imported from China, the T03 will also be assembled in Europe at Stellantis' Tychy plant in Poland, potentially helping the brand avoid EU tariffs on imported Chinese EVs.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has hinted the C10 model could be manufactured in Europe but has not provided details.

Leapmotor, which will serve as Stellantis' 15th brand, will help the world's fourth-largest carmaker widen its range of affordable EVs as it presses ahead with electrification and seeks to comply with EU emission rules at a time of soft global demand for EVs.

Tavares is opposed to a call by European auto lobby ACEA for relief from intermediate CO2 targets for cars and vans coming into effect in the EU in 2025. He said last week it was key for the industry to sell EVs at the same price as petrol models.