(Nov 20): Stellantis NV traded more blows with BYD Co, saying its Chinese partner Leapmotor is selling more electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe’s biggest EV market.
Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co’s shipments have surged in the region this year after Stellantis dealerships added models such as the electric T03 city car. The Chinese company outsold BYD on EVs in Germany last month, according to Florian Huettl, the top Stellantis executive in the country.
“We’ve established Leapmotor in Germany in record time,” Huettl, who’s also in charge of Opel, said on Wednesday at the Automobilwoche summit in Berlin. “We integrated Leapmotor into our existing dealer network — backed up by the Stellantis infrastructure such as warranties and financial services — which has given Leapmotor access to the market.”
The comments appear to be aimed at BYD, which in September took the unusual step to issue a press release that attempted to correct Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa boasting about Leapmotors’ sales success. BYD is still well ahead of Leapmotor on overall sales in Germany and in terms of EV sales through October this year, according to data from German transport authority KBA.
Stellantis and Leapmotor teamed up roughly two years ago to collaborate on gaining access to the Chinese market as well as a plan to sell Leapmotor vehicles internationally. The Chinese brand has since started sales across a number of European countries.
Leapmotor’s T03 has “significant potential” at just under €19,000, making it one of the only affordable small EVs in Stellantis’ lineup, according to Jato Dynamics analyst Daniele Ministeri. The manufacturer “brings many opportunities to Stellantis in terms of enhancing its know-how in new energy vehicles,” he said.
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About 120 dealers in Germany are offering Leapmotor models, Huettl said on the sidelines of the conference, with Stellantis brands present in over 1,000 dealerships. Leapmotor sales are helping Stellantis meet European Union targets on reducing CO2 fleet emissions, he said.
Chinese carmakers have been on a tear in Europe despite the region’s import tariffs, offering electric as well as hybrid models at attractive prices. While their market entry has faced setbacks from an initial lack of dealer and service partners, manufacturers have corrected course and surpassed South Korean carmakers like Kia Corp for the first time.
BYD and Stellantis’ competition runs deeper than just vehicle sales. The maker of the Seal SUV has hired several former Stellantis executives, including its former UK boss Maria Grazia Davino, and Alessandro Grosso, who’d been vice president of Italy sales. BYD also tapped Alfredo Altavilla, a candidate to succeed the late Sergio Marchionne as CEO of Fiat Chrysler in 2018, to be a special adviser for the European market in August of last year.
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Davino, a regional director at BYD’s European business, also touted her company’s sales successes at Wednesday’s conference.
“Last year in Germany we didn’t manage to sell 3,000 units, and this year we will reach six times as many, and next year that growth will continue,” Davino said. “That is the goal. Step by step, and then each step forward needs to become bigger with our dealers.”
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