At the Paris Motor Show, Volkswagen and Stellantis expressed increased confidence in their electric vehicle divisions. Both companies are actively adjusting their strategies to address rising competition from Chinese automakers in Europe.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa stated that the group is studying the technical advantages of Chinese firms through joint ventures with Leapmotor and Dongfeng. The collaboration aims to improve engineering capabilities and understand the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers.
Stellantis has already established a production partnership with Leapmotor and is planning a similar arrangement with Dongfeng. These projects focus on localizing production to comply with upcoming European manufacturing regulations, including a joint mid-size electric SUV developed with Opel.
Leapmotor International CEO Danilo Annese noted that electric vehicle market performance has exceeded expectations from a year ago, with rising adoption rates in countries like Italy and Spain. Opel CEO Florian Huettl highlighted the rapid development speed enabled by these partnerships.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume described the Chinese market as a gym for the automotive industry. However, Volkswagen currently maintains a different approach, focusing its partnership with Xpeng primarily on China. Blume stated that Volkswagen does not need to form joint ventures with Chinese firms in Europe at this stage.
