Multinational automaker Stellantis is teaming up with Chinese automaker Leapmotor to boost sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) overseas.
On Tuesday, Stellantis announced the joint venture with Leapmotor to produce EVs for sale across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Asia Pacific, and South America.
“The creation of Leapmotor International is a great step forward in helping address the urgent global warming issue with state-of-the-art [EV] models that will compete with existing Chinese brands in key markets around the world,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement.
Stellantis’s joint venture with Leapmotor scored approval in March from China’s regulatory body overseen by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The approval suggests the CCP is eager to have Leapmotor sell its cheaper EVs outside mainland China.
CEO of auto giant Stellantis Carlos Tavares and CEO of Chinese electric carmaker Leapmotor Zhu Jiangming shake hands during a joint media event by Stellantis and Leapmotor in Hangzhou, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on May 14, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
The venture comes as Tavares is carrying out widespread layoffs in the United States.
Currently, Stellantis is laying off about 400 salaried engineering and software employees in Auburn Hills, Michigan, with plans to hire lower-wage workers in Brazil, India, Mexico, and Morocco. Whereas Stellantis must pay American engineers $150,000 to $200,000 salaries, the automaker can pay engineers in low-wage countries just $53,000 a year.
An industry insider told Automotive News that Stellantis is making gradual layoffs in the United States to avoid WARN Act disclosures.
Likewise, Stellantis laid off nearly 200 auto workers at its plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, last month. In January, Stellantis also laid off almost 540 supplemental employees across the U.S. and more than 340 were laid off at its Jeep Wrangler plant in Toledo, Ohio, in March.
At the same time, Tavares secured a $39 million compensation package, making him the highest-paid auto executive among Detroit’s Big Three.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
