Leapmotor International Ships First Batch of Electric Cars from China to Europe

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Leapmotor International, a Stellantis-led company (51%/49% Stellantis and Leapmotor), has shipped its first batch of electric vehicles, the C10 SUV and T03 van, from Shanghai, China, to European ports. Stellantis says Leapmotor’s C10 and T03 vehicles are equipped with advanced EV technology, delivering exceptional performance, efficiency and range. The C10 is Leapmotor’s first global product, built to global design and safety standards.

Based on the LEAP3.0 technology architecture developed by Leapmotor itself, the C10 features industry-leading intelligent electric technology, such as the central integrated electronic and electrical architecture, Cell to Structure (CTC) technology, and the pioneering intelligent cockpit. It is a fully equipped, family-oriented D-segment vehicle with the best driving and steering experience in its class, boasting a WLTP range of 420km, and capable of meeting the E-NCAP 5-star rating standard. Having won the 2023 CMF International Design Award for its technological and natural aesthetic design, it recently won the 2024 Gold Award from the French Design Awards (FDA) and the 2024 Gold Award from the American MUSE Design Awards.

The Leapmotor T03 is a five-door, A-segment compact car for urban commuting, with a B-segment interior. Not only is it stylish, it’s fun to drive, and boasts a 265km WLTP range. It ranked first in the JD Power Initial Quality Study in the small electric car category. It’s great to see this small electric car enter the European market. Consumers have been craving more options in this small electric car segment.

Leapmotor is the fourth largest Chinese NEV startup in China by sales in June 2024. “As of the first half of July, Leapmotor has sold over 400,000 EVs in China since the company’s first sale,” said Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhou Jiangming. “China is the world’s largest and most competitive EV market and our products have proven their value through local customer acceptance. From the outset, the C10 and T03 models have been designed to meet the high standards of global customers and we are confident that the collaboration between Stellantis and Leapmotor will drive significant growth for both companies.”

“The shipment of the Leapmotor C10 and T03 vehicles to Europe this month represents a significant moment in the partnership between Stellantis and Leapmotor. It demonstrates our commitment to providing innovative, affordable and sustainable mobility solutions to our customers,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “With Stellantis’ strong business assets in Europe and the hard work of our teams to ensure product innovation and quality, I firmly believe that Leapmotor’s electric vehicles will be widely accepted by European customers. We are excited about the opportunities this partnership presents and look forward to a successful journey together.”

This is a very exciting development. Having been well received in China and other markets, the Leap Motor electric cars will now be available in more markets. This got me thinking. Stellantis has a good presence in the Middle East and Africa. They can leverage this to promote these electric cars. It would be great to see these electric cars available in Africa, especially the T03. It would be even better if they could be manufactured in Africa in the near future in places like Morocco or South Africa, for example. Stellantis has a strong footprint in Morocco. Stellantis Morocco employs 5,192 people, including 3,852 workers at the Kenitra plant and 922 engineers at ATC (Casablanca).

The Kenitra plant has a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year. The plant produces the Peugeot 208 (ICE) and, more importantly, a great little electric car in various forms, such as the Citroen Ami, Opel Rocks-e and Fiat Topolino. Wouldn’t it be great if Stellantis could add the Leapmotor T03 to this production facility? Stellantis is also investing in a production facility in South Africa. Hopefully, in the near future, electric vehicle production lines will be part of this as well.

Images courtesy of Leapmotor