Stellantis e-car Leapmotor B10 will not be built in Poland
Stellantis could build the electric car in Eisenach or in Slovakia instead of Poland because China is planning countermeasures to the EU's punitive tariffs.
(Image: Leapmotor)
Stellantis and its Chinese partner Leapmotor do not want to manufacture their second electric car in Poland as planned, according to various media reports citing Reuters. The Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, is already producing the Leapmotor T03 (test) with components from China.
Instead, the extent to which the Opel plant in Eisenach or the Trnava plant in Slovakia could be suitable production sites for the B10 electric crossover is now being examined, according to company sources. Production in Eisenach would be more expensive than in Poland or Slovakia.
Five EU members had rejected tariffs
The new plans were made after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce advised manufacturers on October 10 against producing in European countries that have voted in favor of introducing additional tariffs on electric cars produced in China. Poland is among them. Five EU member states, including Germany and Slovakia, had rejected the tariffs, while twelve other EU states abstained. Chinese companies have to obtain Beijing's approval for their direct investments abroad anyway.
Stellantis had teamed up with the Chinese start-up Leapmotor to offer customers outside China "affordable high-tech electric cars" with the T03 compact model. To this end, the Group has acquired a 51 percent stake in the joint venture. Leapmotor owns the remaining 49 percent of the partnership. The B10, a significantly larger SUV model (test), was presented at the Paris Motor Show on October 14. The partners have not yet announced where it will be built in Europe.
The news agency has no comments from either the German or Slovakian government at this time, and Opel could not be reached at first. Stellantis and Leapmotor did not wish to comment officially.
(fpi)