A great Leapmotor forward? Ask Stellantis

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Is the new Leapmotor B10 a sneak peek at the future of electric vehicles in North America?

Or is it simply another warning shot in an ongoing series of trade skirmishes between China and a number of key overseas markets?

Unveiled October 14 at the Paris auto show and targeted at global markets in 2025, the B10 is a smoothly styled compact SUV — and the first model built on the Chinese automaker’s new B-platform, according to CNEVpost.com.

Four things to note:

  1. Nine-year-old Leapmotor is partnered with Stellantis, the European parent of Ram and Jeep
  2. Leapmotor will share its vehicle platforms and technology with Stellantis — for now in China and Europe, and potentially in North America
  3. Leapmotor offers many of its “new energy” vehicles with a choice of hybrid gasoline-electric or full electric powertrains
  4. Leapmotor expects to price the new B10 from $14,000-$21,000 — less than half the price of a Tesla Model Y, the world’s best-selling EV, and well below the least expensive American-built EVs from General Motors and Ford

Leapmotor’s B10 — the nameplate was used previously on an entry-level Nissan more than 50 years ago — is joining a rapidly swelling market segment in China, where consumers can buy a basic no-frills EV for less than $5,000. There is also a raft of competitors in the under-$20,000 sector, which is dominated by BYD, China’s largest carmaker.

But so far those Chinese-built vehicles face stiff import tariffs of 100% in North America and up to 45% in Europe.

That hasn’t deterred Leapmotor, which expects to see its T03 electric compact rolling off the line later this year at Stellantis’s Tychy plant in Poland. For now, the T03 is imported from China and is priced in Europe from around $21,600.

Could Stellantis provide an assembly point for Leapmotor in North America and thus sidestep import tariffs?

The two partners so far aren’t talking about that. But the hefty import tariffs, particularly in the U.S., could trigger unintended consequences.

At the Paris show, Reuters cited a warning from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who said tariffs could lead other Chinese automakers to set up European plants, ratcheting up overcapacity in the region and forcing some local automakers to shut factories.

Photo credit: CNEVpost.com

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