After rumors in March 2024, here we are: Stellantis has reportedly started manufacturing the Leapmotor T03, a small Chinese electric car, in the Fiat factory in Tychy in Poland. It should be available in France from September, and is only the first stone of a whole range planned in the long term.
The emergence of Chinese electric car brands is completely changing the landscape of the automobile industry, and forcing traditional manufacturers to adapt. Volkswagen thus joined forces with Xpeng, while Stellantis, a group of Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat and many others, surprised everyone by entering into a partnership with Leapmotor, a virtually unknown start-up.
The objective is clear: sell Leapmotor models in Europe, with a whole range planned. There remains the question of the place of production, and rumors were swirling about the use of the Fiat factory in Tychy, Poland, for the assembly of the small T03. A production which would have started, according to Reuters.
A start of production before a ramp-up
The news agency cites a report from Jefferies, an investment bank, which quotes Leapmotor management during a call with analysts. According to them, the first Leapmotor T03s would have left the Tychy production lines in mid-June, before the start of mass production scheduled for September.
Two advantages for Leapmotor: the production cost in Poland, estimated between 400 and 500 euros per car, is similar to that in China, and around half as much as if the car was produced in Italy. Enough to reduce sales prices.
Second advantage: this European production could avoid the penalties desired by the European Commission, which would like to massively increase customs fees for electric cars produced in China. Finally, this could open the doors to the ecological bonus in France.
This is an important milestone, since these Leapmotors would be the first Chinese cars assembled on European soil. Only BYD already has a factory there, in Hungary, but which manufactures electric buses there, before a new factory for electric and hybrid cars planned for 2027.
The first in a long series
This T03 will therefore be one of the two electric cars available for launch in the fall, accompanied by the C10, an SUV which should be imported directly from China, even if previous rumors suggested assembly at Mirafiori, the historic Fiat factory.
Four other models are planned by 2027, including another SUV, currently named “A12”, which could also be assembled in Tychy from the first quarter of 2025. Leapmotor cars will be sold in the Stellantis network, and we look forward to discovering their prices to find out if the group’s current electric cars (Peugeot E-3008, Citroën ë-C3, Fiat 500e, etc.) could suffer from this internal competition.