Stellantis and China, a fluctuating relationship that Carlos Tavares is trying to stabilize. The agreement reached in recent days by the Italian-French group with goes precisely in this direction Leapmotor, which has been operating in the Asian country in the mobility technology sector since 2015. Stellantis promised a investment of approx 1.5 billion in this company, of which it will acquire 20% of the shareholding and with which it will create a new joint venture of which it will hold 51%: the first Leapmotor cars will arrive within two years at the latest.
China is closer
“We will be in the command post, we don’t want to be victims of the Chinese offensive, we want to be masters of our destiny – the words of Tavares reported by Repubblica – We cannot stay out of the Chinese market. How could we become one of the first groups in the world without being present in the first world market?”. Clear words pronounced by the Portuguese manager, who sees China as an ally almost “obliged” given its importance on the global technological scene even before mobility as a whole.
Stellantis on the attack
“It is too early to say whether we will produce them outside China, the choice will be linked to costs. Surely we will not make the mistakes we have made in the past“, Tavares continued. The reference clearly goes to the joint venture with Gac for Jeep, dissolved last year, as well as to the agreement with Dongfeng, which will be resolved as already announced last week. “The Chinese offensive is there, whether we like it or not – he added – Instead of being spectators, remaining on the defensive, we prefer to be on the attack, but we will not be their Trojan Horse“.
Criticism of the EU
The number one of Stellantis finally focused on the subsidies received by Chinese car manufacturers in the electric segment, explaining how he does not agree with the EU Commission which has decided to open an investigation about: “It’s not the best way to address the issue, which is global. We do not support a fragmented world and we like competition. Start an investigation it’s not the best way to deal with issues like this“.
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