Stellantis priming Spanish plant to build Leapmotor B10 for Europe

Leapmotor plans to start building its new B10 crossover in Spain by the end of the year, as part of a push to strengthen its footing in the European market. The B10 – which is now also offered with a range-extender powertrain – is the Stellantis-backed Chinese firm's third European-market model, following the larger C10 and T03 city car, and is currently built alongside them at the company's main factory in Jinhua, China. But Leapmotor International CEO Tianshu Xin, who runs all of the company's operations outside of its home market, plans to bring production of the B10 to Europe, which will mean it swerves the heavy tariffs imposed on Chinese-built EVs by the EU, and has a higher degree of local content. The company is "investigating options" for building various models in Europe, considering the viability of producing in a number of Stellantis factories across the region with spare capacity - but "the B10 will be the first model we're going to localise - in one of our plants in Spain". He would not be pressed on a more precise timeline, but said it "should be yesterday", emphasising the urgency of moving production to Europe. "The team is working intensively. My objective is really this year," he said. The target of building the first B10 in Spain by the end of the year suggests preparations are well under way - but Leapmotor has yet to confirm which plant will produce the car. Stellantis currently builds small vans in Vigo, superminis in Zaragoza and the Citroën C4 in Madrid. The Zaragoza site has been tipped as the most likely venue, given it is currently undergoing a significant expansion package that includes an on-site battery factory - which will be crucial in making the B10's content as 'local' as possible. A report last year, citing China's Spanish embassy, said Stellantis and Leapmotor were investing $200m in preparing for local B10 production. Leapmotor was originally planned to build its first European cars at Stellantis's factory in Tychy, Poland, alongside the Alfa Romeo Junior, Fiat 600 and Jeep Avenger, but produced only a limited number of T03 superminis there before taking production back to China. The move to build B10s in Spain is part of a wide-reaching Leapmotor initiative to become a more European-centric brand, with models that are not just built in the local market, but designed, positioned and engineered more specifically for European consumers. "For any brand to succeed in any other regions, you need to understand the local customer needs. You need to have a big presence and operations in that particular region - and with Stellantis as one of the biggest shareholders, eventually we will be considered as one of the European brands by having a full scope of operations in the region." "And from a regulatory standpoint - if you localise here, you need a minimum of 40% local content, so all these make sense from a long-term perspective. We need to develop the brand 'local for local' - not only from an operational perspective, but also from understanding the local customers and regulatory requirements."

main menu

Stellantis priming Spanish plant to build Leapmotor B10 for Europe

Spanish production line will open by the end of the year, boosting brand's push into Europe

Add your comment

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

Legal bits

About Autocar

main menu

Stellantis priming Spanish plant to build Leapmotor B10 for Europe

Spanish production line will open by the end of the year, boosting brand's push into Europe

Autocar Registration Block

Add your comment

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

We recommend

Legal bits

About Autocar