Zaragoza40,000 Leapmotor vehicles shipped in Europe in 2025.
Stellantis-majority Leapmotor International now adds manufacturing at Spain’s Zaragoza plant, using China’s electric-vehicle supply chain to cut retail prices.
The Madrid Villaverde plant may transfer to the venture from 2028, producing Leapmotor nameplates globally.
Sources: wallstreet:online, Yahoo! Finance, ETAuto.com, Times LIVE
THE TARIFF WORKAROUND
The EU imposed countervailing duties on Chinese-built EVs in late 2024 — up to 35% on top of the standard 10% car tariff. Assembling inside the EU sidesteps the duty entirely. A joint venture with a European incumbent on European soil is the cleanest legal path in.
WHY STELLANTIS NEEDED A PARTNER
Western legacy automakers spent a decade behind on battery cost curves. CATL and BYD drove pack costs below $100/kWh years before VW or Stellantis got there. Buying into Leapmotor for $1.6bn in 2023 was cheaper than catching up alone.
THE ZARAGOZA CHOICE
Stellantis' Zaragoza plant has built Opel Corsas since 1982 and sits 300km from Barcelona's port. Spain's industrial electricity prices run roughly half of Germany's, and labor costs are about 60% of the German auto-sector average — which is why Volkswagen also picked Sagunto for its $10bn battery gigafactory.
THE MAJORITY-STAKE TWIST
Stellantis holds 51% of Leapmotor International — not Leapmotor itself, but the joint venture that owns rights outside Greater China. The structure means a Chinese brand sells Chinese-engineered cars built in Europe with Western majority control. Beijing approved it because export-platform JVs help its automakers scale globally without being treated as state actors.
THE PRECEDENT
China spent 30 years requiring foreign automakers to enter via 50/50 JVs with SAIC, FAW, or Dongfeng — that's how VW, GM, and Toyota built their China businesses. The Leapmotor deal inverts that template: now the Chinese partner brings the technology and the Western partner brings market access.