Stellantis will invest €1.5bn to acquire about 20 per cent of Chinese electric vehicle start-up Leapmotor in a sign of deepening industry consolidation in China’s car market.Stellantis, which makes Jeep cars in the US and owns the Fiat and Citroën brands in Europe, will form a new joint venture to sell Leapmotor’s electric vehicles outside China.
The European carmaker will also take two seats on the board of the Hong Kong-listed company and appoint the new joint venture’s chief executive, Stellantis said in a statement.
“As consolidation unfolds among the capable electric vehicles start-ups in China, it becomes increasingly apparent that a handful of efficient and agile new generation EV players, like Leapmotor, will come to dominate the mainstream segments in China,” said Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares.