Stellantis To Debut China’s Leapmotor EVs In India Soon

SUMMARY

Stellantis said that bringing the Leapmotor brand in the country aligns with its larger strategy of expanding its EV footprint in one of the world's fastest-growing automotive landscapes

Earlier, Stellantis’ head of China operations Tianshu Xin said that the company will debut EV developed by Leapmotor in India by 2025-end

This comes a year after reports first surfaced that the Chinese EV maker was looking to foray into the Indian market in partnership with auto giant Stellantis

Jeep and Maserati-maker Stellantis reportedly plans to roll out electric vehicles (EVs) made by its Chinese joint venture partner Leapmotor in India soon.

As per news agency PTI, Stellantis said that bringing the Leapmotor brand in the country aligns with its larger strategy of expanding its EV footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing automotive landscapes.

There was, however, no clarity on when the company plans to debut Leapmotor EVs in the country or which models or whether the electric cars will be imported or manufactured locally. It is pertinent to note that Stellantis operates several units in India, including one in Tamil Nadu where it manufactures EVs for the Citroen brand.

“We’re excited to announce the entry of (the) Leapmotor brand in India, thereby strengthening our commitment to the market. We already have a strong presence in India with our Jeep and Citroën brands, and we deeply understand the strategic importance and immense potential that the Indian market holds,” Stellantis India CEO and MD Shailesh Hazela reportedly said.

This comes a day after Reuters quoted Stellantis’ head of China operations and CEO of the joint venture with Leapmotor, Tianshu Xin, as saying that the Jeep-maker was looking to sell EV developed by Leapmotor in India as soon as 2025-end.

“With the size of the automotive market, India certainly has a lot of potential as well… We’re accelerating entering into the Indian market,” Xin reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming also told Reuters India is potentially a large market for the company, but added that it would be difficult to make a profit in the country.

The development comes a year after reports first surfaced that the Chinese EV maker was looking to foray into the Indian market in partnership with Stellantis.

For the uninitiated, Stellantis bought a 21% stake in Leapmotor in 2023 for $1.6 Bn. billion. The two automakers also formed a JV Leapmotor International, in which Stellantis owns a 51% stake.

Leapmotor is looking to enter the country at a time when the Indian government has increased scrutiny of Chinese companies. The Centre reportedly canned Chinese EV giant BYD’s proposed $1 Bn joint venture with Megha Engineering last year citing national security concerns. As a result, BYD has maintained a limited presence in India, selling just 3,500 cars in the country in 2024.

Meanwhile, MG Motor, too, had to partner with Sajjan Jindal’s JSW to comply with regulations.

Nevertheless, Stellantis-Leapmotor’s entry will likely intensify competition in the Indian EV space. The homegrown electric four-electric landscape is populated by the likes of global brands such as Citroen, BMW and MG Motor as well as homegrown legacy giants like Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra. Elon Musk-led Tesla is also said to be making a healthy headway to enter the Indian shores soon.

Despite a growing number of players selling their offerings, electric four-wheeler penetration rate in India stood at a mere 2.5% due to factors such as range anxiety, high costs, limited charging infrastructure, among others.

To address these concerns, the Centre has rolled out a slew of sops and subsidies to incentivise global players to manufacture in the country, thereby bringing down costs and making the country an EV hub.