Stellantis is entering into the sale of Chinese EVs in Europe

Can we say better late than never? In any case, Stellantis is disregarding the existing European Union tax on imported electric vehicles manufactured in China and is starting to take orders for small vehicles that the group plans to sell in Europe in partnership with the Chinese group Leapmotor.

Even with the European tax of 17.7% that Stellantis and Leapmotor would have to pay on vehicles imported from China, their retail price remains hard to beat by any non-Chinese manufacturer. The first vehicle sold by the two brands is a microcompact called T03, with a retail price of 18,900 euros, equivalent to $28,000 CAD. It comes to $33,000 CAD after the import tax.

In addition to the T03, which is, let’s face it, very small, Stellantis has started to announce the arrival in Europe of a second model designed in partnership with Leapmotor, called C10, which seems much more appealing. It is a compact electric SUV that, in Europe, is criticized for being a blatant copy of the Toyota Rav4. However, the Leapmotor C10 will cost $54,000 CAD, or $64,000 CAD with the Chinese import tax.

Again, the retail prices remain competitive. But that’s not all! Because all this would actually be just a preamble to Stellantis’ true marketing strategy, which is to finish assembling the vehicles supplied by Leapmotor in a factory located in Poland.

If this happens, the import tax will not apply. It can even be added that if this happens, other manufacturers will want to try the same formula to bypass the European tax.

One wonders if the scenario could be the same in Canada? It would be difficult, as in the United States, the largest North American market, Washington already prohibits Chinese components and batteries, and will soon ban Chinese software as well.

The text “Stellantis se lance dans la vente de VÉ chinois en Europe” comes from L’annuel de l’automobile – Actualité automobile.