The Franco-Italian carmaker last year bought a 21 per cent stake in electric car maker Leapmotor for $1.6 billion. As part of the deal, the two groups announced a joint venture, 51% controlled by Stellantis, which gives the European carmaker exclusive rights to manufacture Leapmotor products outside of China.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said at the time that Leapmotor vehicles would appear in Europe in two years at most.
According to Automotive News Europe, production of Leapomotor electric cars in Italy could begin as early as 2026 or 2027. This was reported by the publication's sources familiar with the matter.
Carlos Tavares also indirectly confirmed this possibility. Last week, he said during the presentation of last year's earnings report, the Stellantis group could produce Leapmotor cars in Italy "if there was a business case for that".
"It only depends on our cost competitiveness and our quality competitiveness. So it's open for us to grasp that opportunity at one point in time," he said.
Stellantis currently has an electric Fiat 500 hatchback in Turin.
Reuters notes that the start of Leapmotor car production in Turin could help Stellantis meet a target agreed with the Italian government to increase the group's production in the country to one million vehicles by the end of the decade. Stellantis' facilities produced around 750,000 vehicles in Italy last year.
Source: Reuters
