Countdown to striking movei.e. the start of production in Europe of those Chinese electric car models otherwise subject to the customs duties announced by the initiative of the European Commissionset to be announced on July 4th. Stellantis so start your own operational collaboration with Leapmotor, brand born in 2015 and specialized in more classic electric cars and range extenders, i.e. with a combustion engine used to recharge the on-board batteries. According to the agency Reuters and the header AutomotiveNewsin the Stellantis factory in Tychy in Poland, the same one where Alfa Romeo Junior are made, Jeep Avenger And Fiat 600production of the Leapmotor T03. It happens thanks to the Joint venture Leapmotor International, 51% controlled by the group led by Carlos Tavares and created at the beginning of May 2024 with the aim of distributing the models of the Chinese brand in nine European countries (in addition to Italy, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Germany, Greece and Romania). Stellantis, moreover, announced on 26 October 2023 theentry into the capital of Leapmotor with an investment of 1.5 billion euros to acquire approximately 20% of the shares.
On the swing
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It is inevitable to think about the opportunities that Stellantis intended to evaluate in choosing the Polish plant, where according to sources the production cost for every Leapmotor T03 would swing around 500 euros per car net of materials, i.e. identical to that incurred in China, but very different from the 1,000 euros that manufacturing in an Italian factory would cost. It is easier to evaluate the timing chosen by Leapmotor International, with the assembly lines in motion on European territory already before the announcement of customs duties destined to be imposed on cars produced in China. Customs duties also long invoked by Carlos Tavares, which in 2022, on the occasion of the Paris Motor Show, asked with the utmost harshness for “rules on imports for at least ten years, because the competitive conditions in Europe are more favorable to Chinese manufacturers than those in the Asian country for Western builders”. The Portuguese manager’s statements during the day dedicated to investors which took place in the group’s US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on 14 June were more nuanced: “With duties we are trying to correct a competitiveness gap, but in reality an imbalance is created. It is naive to think that with tariffs we will be more protected.”
On the lead
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Based on what has already been announced by the European Commission, pending the official communication expected on 5 July, each Leapmotor electric car produced in China will weigh one additional customs duty of 21%, to be added to the 10% currently already applied. It won’t happen for the model of T03 battery-powered city car produced in Poland, with the Tychy plant already engaged in the production of the first pre-series examples, awaiting actual series production starting in September, as Reuters anticipates in the absence of official communication. According to the rumors gathered, the European version of the SUV will be built in Tychy again from 2025 Leapmotor A12also with a European passport.
