China’s Leapmotor To Build T03 Small EV In Polish Stellantis Plant

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You can already buy Chinese cars in Europe, but soon Europeans will be able to buy a Chinese-brand car made in their own region. Leapmotor is poised to start building EVs at a Stellantis plant in Poland as early as this spring, reports say.

Semi-knocked down (SDK) kits of partially assembled T03 EVs will be shipped from China to the Tychy plant in Europe, which is about to have plenty of spare capacity on its hands, Reuters sources say. Tychy has built the retro, combustion-powered 500 for over 15 years, but that ends in the first half of this year because the 500 won’t comply with homologation requirements after July.

The T03 is a tiny electric city car that’s slightly smaller than a Mitsubishi Mirage or Hyundai i10. But unlike those cars, which are strictly combustion-powered, the T03 comes only as an EV with a range of around 174 miles (280 km). European prices haven’t been confirmed but it’s likely to massively undercut Stellantis’s own Citroen e-C3, which will cost €23,300 ($25,200), though a short-range version of the Citroen due in 2025 will cut that starting price to €19,900 ($21,500).

Related: Stellantis Might Build Chinese Leapmotor EVs In Historic Italian Fiat Plant

While other Chinese carmakers are planning to set up brand new factories in countries like Italy and Hungary, Leapmotor has a head start courtesy of Stellantis’s decision to buy a 21 percent stake in it last October for $1.6 billion. The two firms set up a joint venture that would give the Western company a better foothold in the Chinese market, but more significantly, would bring Leapmotor’s cars to Europe.

The deal gives Stellantis an exclusive right to build and sell Leapmotor vehicles outside of China, and that doesn’t necessarily mean limiting activity to Europe. Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said last month that it could also build EVs in America.

“At one point in time, Western governments may be tempted to block Chinese exports,” Auto News reported Tavares saying in February. “We have the opportunity to assemble Leapmotor cars inside the bubble. It could be Europe it could be North America.”

Western companies like Stellantis are still unable to produce EVs for the same price as combustion engined cars, and are under immense pressure from the incoming Chinese automakers, who have just about managed parity between the two fuel types. So until Western brands make the sums add up, working with the Chinese seems better than letting them waltz right in and steal their lunch.

Source: Reuters