2024-09-25 13:45:30
Leapmotor, the new brand to join the Stellantis universe, will arrive in Spain at the beginning of October through its subsidiary dealer network, where it will be available with other brands of the group such as Peugeot, Citroën, Opel or Fiat. At the moment, the brand has 41 distribution points and they hope to add to eight more before the end of the year.
The objective, according to the director of Leapmotor Iberia, Mónica Mira, is to reach 65 dealers in 2025 to market their two models with which they will enter Europe. The small T03 is a five-door A-side electric car whose price will start at 18,900 euros, while the C10 SUV measures 4.7 meters long and starts selling for 34,900 euros.
These models will reach Spanish sales points starting on October 7, Mira said during the European presentation process of the brand in Milan. In terms of sales, the brand estimates that it will close 2024 with more than 500 units sold: 375 of the T03 and 200 of the C10.
Globally, Leapmotor will produce between 6,000 and 10,000 units of these two products by 2024 in three plants it owns in China. However, its cars are subject to an additional 18% tax as a result of the European Commission’s investigation. For this reason, the brand is considering production in one of the group’s locations in Europe – or the world itself.
“All Stellantis factories can produce a single vehicle with just a few weeks of customization,” the company said.
Furthermore, “we intend to launch a new model every year and, as it is a new brand, we think it is important to have a strong sales and after-sales network,” the guide said. In Europe, they expect this number to rise to between 200 and 500 by 2026.
One of the strengths of Leapmotor is the business network that has already been developed, in contrast to other Chinese brands, which had to be built from scratch. Distribution of parts from the Stellantis network is carried out by the spare parts subsidiary, Distrigo.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been particularly harsh on the arrival of Chinese brands in Europe, and in favor of raising tariffs to make competition more equal. Asian manufacturers represent the biggest threat to the French general brands, as they compete with them on prices and Peugeot, Renault or Citroën are not very expensive in China, as is the case with the Germans.
For this reason, this year Stellantis created a joint venture with its new brand, called Leapmotor International, in which the European Consortium controls 51% of the shares, with the idea of using its strengths, such as the distribution network or communications , to sell electric vehicles that have already been developed and with good performance.
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