Stellantis plans to assemble the Leapmotor T03 in Poland to avoid tariffs

The latest brand to join Stellantis' portfolio is Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car manufacturer that will compete on price in the segments it enters. The arrival in Spain will take place from October, with the small T03, starting at 18,900 euros, and the SUV C10, starting at 34,900 euros.

The CEO of the European consortium, Carlos Tavares, had been very critical of the arrival of Chinese brands in the community market, but since founding the joint venture with Leapmotor, his speech has taken a 180-degree turn.

Now, imposing tariffs on Chinese electric cars is an anti-competitive measure that will only cause long-term harm, "a trap" that protects European manufacturers from the reality: that the Chinese manufacture vehicles of comparable quality for a third of the cost.

In his opinion, the best way to compete with them is "to try to be Chinese ourselves too," he said at an event organized by Reuters. By signing the collaboration agreement, Tavares made available to Chinese products his marketing team, distribution network, and if necessary, his production footprint.

It seems that moment has arrived. Stellantis stated that it intends to use its Polish factory to assemble the T03, whose parts will come directly from China. Doing so would allow the brand to avoid European Commission tariffs.

This system is known as DKD or CKD – depending on the degree of assembly required at the plant – and is similar to what Chery will do with its Omoda in Barcelona.

Other models of the group such as Fiat, Jeep or Alfa Romeo are also produced at the Polish plant in Tychy.

According to Leapmotor CEO Xin Tianshu, "we are in the preparation phase," and production will not begin until the last quarter. Leapmotor faces an additional 18% rate on top of the 10% that all cars coming from China have to pay.

For Leapmotor's larger model, the C10, Xin said there is no decision yet to manufacture in Europe. The model has already arrived in Europe and is being reviewed in Italy before reaching Stellantis distributors in the community market.