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Automotive Industry
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa is looking for growth by filling “white spaces” in the automaker’s lineup and in the market, and he will do that in Europe with larger models built by Chinese partners Leapmotor and Dongfeng.
Leapmotor will build two midsize, or D-segment, vehicles in Stellantis’ Madrid factory, which will be transferred to the Leapmotor International joint venture between the two companies. In Rennes, France, Dongfeng will assemble larger models for its Voyah premium EV brand, starting in 2028.
Peugeot will launch a production version of the Concept 6 shooting-brake style midsize model that was displayed at the Beijing auto show in April.
The models will expand the group’s market coverage in Europe, where it has few midsize and larger models.
Filosa portrayed the moves as complementing his brands’ lineups rather than cannibalizing them.
“We don’t want to compete in the same showroom for the same customer,” Filosa told journalists May 21 at Stellantis’ investor day in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “We are strong in the A- and B-segments (minicar and small), and we are launching C-segment [compact] cars. So, we’ll have Leapmotor industrializing two D-segment cars in Madrid, which are out of our current reach.”
He framed the partnerships as a way to learn from Chinese automakers, to share capacity to better manage fixed costs, and to improve sourcing by growing the supplier base, especially for electric vehicles.
“Once we are partnered with Leapmotor or with Dongfeng, we will better compete with BYD or Geely,” Filosa said.
Stellantis owns 20 percent of Leapmotor and has 51 percent of the Leapmotor International joint venture, which distributes and sells the brand’s cars outside of China. It has a joint venture with Dongfeng in China called DPCA, and Dongfeng has a 1.6 percent stake in Stellantis.
Adding the new models to Stellantis’ European showrooms is part of Filosa’s strategy to revive sales and reclaim market share by taking advantage of “white spaces” in Stellantis’s lineup and in the market. In North America, Stellantis will launch smaller pickups, a line of high-performance pickups and bring back the Jeep Cherokee SUV.
In Europe, Leapmotor sells the C10 midsize SUV, which is offered as a battery-electric vehicle or extended-range EV. Voyah offers the Free and Courage SUVs. Stellantis has not said which larger Leapmotor models could be built in Madrid or Voyah models in France. It will build the compact Leapmotor B10 in its factory in Zaragoza, Spain.
Stellantis has few midsize models in its European lineup. Peugeot offers the 5008, which is built on the same STLA Medium platform as the 3008 compact SUV. Alfa Romeo has the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, both of which are on a Fiat Chrysler platform. There is also the DS No. 8, a low-volume coupe-style crossover.
The midsize segment has been growing in Europe thanks to electrification, which has helped reverse a trend of mainstream automakers exiting, and the entry of new Chinese models.
Several years ago Renault discontinued the Talisman sedan and station wagon and Espace minivan; Citroen has dropped the C5 X crossover and Peugeot the 508 sedan and station wagon.
The leading midsize cars through April were the Tesla Model 3 with 29,334 sales, followed by the Volkswagen Passat and VW ID7. The BYD Seal 06 wagon was fifth, followed by the Seal sedan. The segment is up 7.2 percent after four months.
The midsize SUV segment is up by 30 percent this year through April. It is led by the Tesla Model Y with 59,243 sales, followed by the Skoda Kodiaq, BYD Seal U and Skoda Enyaq.