Carlos Tavares, Stellantis' global CEO, has announced that Leapmotor International will enter the Indian market in Q4 2024. Leapmotor International is a joint venture (JV) led by Amsterdam-based Stellantis with Chinese EV maker Leapmotor, which aims to sell and manufacture EVs outside China. The entry into India is a part of the joint venture’s global expansion strategy.

Announcing the next step for the venture, Tavares said, “We are now going to go live. We are now in the planning phase to go to the markets and start exporting vehicles out of China to the rest of the world. And as we said this morning, planning is 10 percent, and execution is 90 percent. So, we are entering the execution part of our deal.”

1. Leapmotor to enter nine European markets starting September 2024
2. JV to help bring affordable EVs to the market quicker
3. Stellantis-Leapmotor JV to launch nine EVs in international markets by 2027

Leapmotor will enter nine European countries in the first phase, starting September 2024, including Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Portugal. The brand will be sold across 200 dealerships in the region. Stellantis is now in the process of homologating all of those models in the European market, and sales will start only after that.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (left); Leapmotor founder, chairman and CEO Jiangming Zhu (right).

In Q4 of 2024, Leapmotor International will enter South America, Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific regions, informed Tavares. “With the combination of the nine European countries, plus the three additional regions, we expect to bring a significant growth of Leapmotor models,” added Tavares.

Elaborating on this arrangement, Tavares says this deal offers four benefits: it enables the JV to accelerate the way to go to market with smart and affordable EVs; bringing in latest technology from Leapmotor; supporting the Dare Forward plan of Stellantis to reduce emission by 50 percent by 2030; and use an asset light model to execute the plan.

The JV plans to bring in a portfolio of 6 models by 2027. “The ultimate goal is the zero emission vehicles. The JV will help in offering affordable vehicles,” Tavares said.

When asked whether Stellantis will be assembling these vehicles in India, Tavares said that severe customs duties or tariffs are a good opportunity for the company to use Stellantis' local manufacturing footprint. Still, it has to make a business case.

“So, we are keen on creating that opportunity for Leapmotor International if that makes economic sense, as there is no limitation for Leapmotor International to use our manufacturing footprint inside of India if that was to be the best business case,” added Tavares. Synergies beyond using Leapmotor models would be a topic of “separate discussion” if they deliver win-win opportunities for both companies.