Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in China recovered on solid footing in May, as new models fitted with higher-performance batteries and more advanced driver assistance systems drew consumers amid intensified competition. Zeekr, a premium EV brand owned by Geely Auto, the country’s second-largest carmaker, and Stellantis-backed Leapmotor rewrote their monthly delivery records, the latest sign that local government subsidies have whetted consumers’ buying appetite for big-ticket items. Although...
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers, from BYD to Leapmotor, are voraciously seeking out manufacturing assets in Europe as the global energy crisis creates surging demand for battery-powered vehicles. Their pursuit of idled European assembly facilities owned by big names like Stellantis and Volkswagen is disrupting the pecking order in the global automotive industry, as the Chinese carmakers’ design and manufacturing heft sees them morph into international players. “China’s EV assemblers are...
Leapmotor, one of China’s strongest-performing electric vehicle (EV) makers this year, has taken a major step towards building cars locally for European customers after agreeing with shareholder Stellantis to add a line at a Spanish plant previously earmarked for Opel. The Hangzhou-based company and Stellantis, owner of Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep, would jointly build Opel’s new fully electric C-sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and B10 models at the Figueruelas plant in Zaragoza, according to a...