Stellantis CEO sees potential in Chinese vehicles in North America

Auburn Hills, Michigan — Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said he believes there is an opportunity for the automaker to expand its partnerships in North America and potentially produce Chinese-branded vehicles outside the United States to fill factories and increase sales.

Filosa said on Thursday that the company would “definitely” be a partner with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. He said he sees an opportunity to expand vehicle production and sales to Mexico and potentially Canada.

“I believe there’s room in Mexico. … There might be room in Canada, too. Let’s see,” he said at a news conference following an investor day at the company’s North American headquarters near Detroit. he said. “There’s no room in the United States anymore. We can’t see that.”

Legacy automakers, especially those with deep roots in the region like Stellantis, are concerned about Chinese automakers entering North America. U.S. executives have expressed concerns that the operations could be a gateway to American consumers.

Amid trade tensions with the United States, Canada currently allows 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles to be imported for retail sale at a 6.1% annual tariff rate.

One notable option in Canada is a large Stellantis assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The plant has not produced a new vehicle since production of the Dodge Charger and Challenger ends in December 2023.

Bloomberg News last month reported Stellantis had been discussing options with Leapmotor to produce electric vehicles in Canada, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Filosa said Stellantis’ ties with Leapmotor continue to expand as a way for the company to increase sales, learn from its Chinese counterpart and share capital expenses.

Since 2023, Stellantis has also been the 51% majority owner of a joint venture with Leapmotor that includes exclusive rights to sell and manufacture its products outside China.

Stellantis, Leapmotor’s largest shareholder with a 21% stake, announced earlier this week that it was expanding its partnership with the Chinese automaker and also the creation of a European joint venture. Chinese automaker Dongfeng.

Filosa said the company still sees opportunities to partner with brands outside of China, as it did in the U.S. when it announced earlier this week to explore collaborations. Jaguar LandRover.

“We see the potential for partnership” [the] “JLR is a partnership that can work very well for both parties because you see that the profile of the things that we industrialise, the things that we build, are not that different… so there is a synergy in the product concept that we can share with JLR,” he said at the media briefing.