Overview
- Stellantis is negotiating with China’s Leapmotor to co-develop an Opel electric SUV for assembly in Zaragoza, Spain, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, with a deal possible this month.
- Terms under discussion would have Leapmotor supply core electronic and electrical systems and other key parts, while Opel leads the exterior design.
- A significant share of engineering work would occur in China, according to one source familiar with the talks.
- Production is targeted to start in 2028 at about 50,000 vehicles a year, and the Opel model would use the same underlying platform as Leapmotor’s B10 compact SUV, which is slated for Zaragoza assembly later this year for Europe.
- The push follows a roughly $25–26 billion writedown tied to Stellantis scaling back in-house EV plans and a broader effort to cut costs and defend European market share from fast-growing Chinese brands such as BYD.