Stellantis seeks factory-sharing deals with Chinese carmakers
The group aims to address surplus capacity without closing European plants, chief executive Antonio Filosa said in Paris.
Chinese partnerships could provide a way for Stellantis to retain its European plants despite surplus production capacity, chief executive Antonio Filosa said. Addressing the Paris Automotive Summit, he set out plans for partners including Leapmotor and Dongfeng to share factory capacity.
The intended arrangements would align production with demand while avoiding models that compete directly against Stellantis brands. Filosa said the Leapmotor partnership brings together the Chinese carmaker’s technology and Stellantis’s factories and market access. European production could offer local customers a wider selection of affordable electric vehicles.
The group is looking for similar partnerships with Chinese businesses and companies in markets such as India. It aims to speed up model development and increase factory utilisation by combining partners’ technology with its own manufacturing expertise, distribution network and customer knowledge.
Stellantis’s FaSTLAne 2030 strategy provides for investment of €60 billion. Platforms, powertrains and technologies used by multiple brands and markets will receive 40 per cent, while individual brands and products will account for the remaining 60 per cent. The forthcoming STLA One platform is due to debut at Peugeot in France, with other brands in Europe and North America to follow. Shared powertrains for several regions are also planned to avoid duplicated spending and cut costs through scale.
Filosa said Stellantis would need additional European battery gigafactories, beyond those developed with two partners, to meet demand and “Made in Europe” requirements. He urged that manufacturers be given time for those investments, while also calling for a quick agreement on amendments to European CO2 emissions rules and measures supporting production in Europe.
