Stellantis plans joint production in Europe with Dongfeng

The two car manufacturers, Stellantis and Dongfeng, from China, plan to expand their partnership specifically for the sale, distribution, production, purchasing, and design of Dongfeng vehicles “with alternative drives” in Europe. This means the multi-brand group, which is already closely cooperating with the Chinese electric car startup Leapmotor, is bringing the production of another Chinese brand to Europe.

The joint venture envisages European Dongfeng production with “alternative drives” (“NEV”) at the Stellantis plant in Rennes-La Janais in northern France. It was founded in 1961 for Citroën and later operated by PSA before becoming part of Stellantis. Today, the electric car Citroën C5 Aircross (Test) is manufactured there. It is stated that one can “draw on Dongfeng's highly competitive Chinese NEV ecosystem.” The announcement today also states that initially, they intend to use Stellantis' network for the distribution and maintenance of cars from Dongfeng's premium brand Voyah in “certain European markets”.

More choice thanks to Chinese expertise

For the planned activities, the partners want to establish a “European-based joint venture led by Stellantis with a shareholding of 51:49.” Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa wants to offer his customers “...even greater choice of competitive products and prices by combining the best of Stellantis' global presence with Dongfeng's access to China's advanced ecosystem for vehicles with alternative drives.”

Qing Yang, President of Dongfeng, emphasizes that his group will “closely align with China's national strategies of comprehensive opening-up and stabilizing foreign investment, companies, and employment. (...) Through cooperation in technology, branding, and global markets, the joint venture will unlock greater value, accelerate Dongfeng's global expansion, and support Stellantis' global strategic realignment and presence in China.”

Shortly before, the partners had announced that their existing Chinese joint venture, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co., will manufacture NEVs of the Peugeot and Jeep brands for global export at its Wuhan plant from 2027 onwards. The cooperation with Dongfeng has already existed for 34 years; it began in Wuhan in 1992 with Citroën and has been operating as Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co. (“DPCA”) since Peugeot's involvement. Dongfeng also works with other European brands. For example, the Dacia Spring (Test), also a Dongfeng product, is marketed by Stellantis competitor Renault. It is currently the cheapest electric car in Germany.

(fpi)