GM rival Stellantis is moving to sell Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) in the European market under the Vauxhall brand. GM sold Vauxhall in 2017 after more than 90 years of ownership. As a result of the Biden administration’s recent 100-percent tariff on Chinese-manufactured EVs, it’s all but impossible that any of the new low-cost all-electric models will be available stateside.
GM originally acquired Vauxhall in 1925 before selling the storied British marque to French manufacturer PSA Groupe in a deal that also included the Opel brand. PSA Groupe later merged with Stellantis.
Stellantis also owns brands like Fiat and Peugeot, as well as 51 percent of Leapmotor, a startup automobile manufacturer based in Hangzhou, China that specializes in EVs. Now, according to a report from The Guardian, Stellantis will leverage its partnership with Leapmotor to offer Chinese electric vehicles in the European market under the Vauxhall branding.
Stellantis plans to initially launch two Leapmotors models in Europe, namely the T03, a small five-door city car, and the C10, a larger utility model. Sales will kick off in September and start under 20,000 euros (US$21,629 at current exchange rates, 05/14/2024). Sales will begin in the U.K. in March of the 2025 calendar year.
China is currently the biggest electric car market in the world, and dozens of Chinese manufacturers are aiming to capture a slice of the pie.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares recently stated that the move would align with an influx of Chinese-made vehicles entering the European market and has voiced concerns over protectionist policies in the U.S. Earlier this week, the Biden administration imposed a 100-percent tariff on Chinese-made EVs, making it all but impossible for these vehicles to be sold stateside. The recent round of tariffs also affects critical minerals, lithium-ion batteries, and other EV components, favoring domestic manufacturing and supply chains.
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If EVs really are the future, then American car companies ought to invest in all aspects of battery procurement, including R&D. Licensing battery technology from China (as they are doing now) is not the way to compete.
They have. Biggest depository of legally accessibly lithium is in Afghanistan (china ownership now, thanks Brandon) cause we could get it from Utah, but greenpeace wouldn’t like that. Currently companies are researching alternatives to lithium for batteries, and with americas agricultural production (little know fact, Chinese buy their Soy and rice from Americans) the feds are killing investment into bio-fuels. We could mop chinas clock any day, but china-joe is letting them have us.
BTW, I’m 200% for just drilling more oil. Alaska alone has 500 years of GLOBAL consumption, and that’s assuming no more is found in a 500 year period. Let’s drill, start nuke plants, and deal with a 2 degree increase in global temperatures. The last 2 actually saw a net ocean level drop of 15CM according to the danish oceanography society, and more people freeze to death anyways.
Probably you are not living in Alaska. This would explain why you are so generous with your 200% favorable opinion. I hope they find some huge oil reserve in your neighborhood and start fracking to boost America's oil production.
Ummm, you do realize that most OEM's are and have been doing just that?
Nothing like digging your own grave. What idiots.
Do you make a distinction between Stellantis' path described here and gm's path started through the Envasion? Or are both at least somewhat bad?
It's all bad. Every time I see an article like this I die a little inside.
Have you really stepped back and thought about why transitioning to EVs is terrible? Like seriously. What about them is so dramatically different that will ruin cars forever?
No charging infrastructure, impractical for long trips unless you enjoy spending time at a charging station, astronomical cost to replace batteries, wearing tires out twice as fast, higher insurance costs. Other than these things EVs are awesome!
Actually I was talking about the governments allowing it to happen. The consumer electronics and steel industries- among others- have been handed on a silver platter to China, now China's coming after the auto industry.
Thank Berkshire Hathaway, Blackrock, Bridgewater, and Vanguard for investing in the destruction of the US economy by investing in China.
It is a Global Economy out there. Most of the Americans are invested in these global funds one way or another. Governments have little leverage to induce significant changes without destabilizing the system and it takes time for the changes to be felt at the ordinary citizen level. Being so divided like the US is right now doesn't help at all.
communist china is taking over the world!! no patents no protection the communists are slowly winning, the future doesnt look bright, Americans will buy them, then they can just like japanese and german products
Don't take your personal freedoms and rights for granted. Because tomorrow, we may not have them anymore. And its looking more and more increasingly likely. 2nd Amendment looking more and more vital these days.
Europe selling its own economy and wellbeing to an authoritarian tyrant is nothing new here. They did it with Russia and still haven't learned their lesson. Like I said before, at some point, Darwin needs to do his job.
China and India are the biggest polluters and yet, USA and Canada thinks it's us that has to reduce emissions! Outrageous!
And China and India are laughing at us as we are destroying our industry and driving jobs to their nation while at the same time not doing nothing to reduce global emissions. In fact the net effect could be HIGHER global emissions as American manufacturing moves to countries like India and China that could care less about emissions.
My wife is Indian. From Mumbai to be exact. The city literally sits in a plume of smog. When you look at the Weather Forecast from Weather Channel, it will literally say “Smoke” as the forecast.
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selling the storied British marque to French manufacturer PSA Groupe in a deal that also included the Opel brand.
[/quote]
Actually GM sold the Opel company to PSA Groupe, in 2017.
Opel was owner of the Vauxhall brand as well of all GM facilities in Europe (some only recently transferred to Opel in order to be able to sell everything in one piece to PSA), exept a technical development site in Italy, and the european General Motors company in Switzerland.
Now GM is returning to the European automobile market with the Cadillac brand, advertising also here in Germany.
I could upload a photo of Cadillac advertisement.
see the Stellantis press release on Leapmotor here:
https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/leapmotor/press/leapmotor-steps-up-into-europe-with-the-leap-campaign
One has to know that neither FCA nor PSA (which merged to form Stellantis) had any noticeable economic success in China, so that the merged company gave up on China all together.
Now they try a restart, by taking a 21% share in the Chinese company Leapmotor and a 51% share in the newly formed formed Leapmotor International.
Stellantis also tested the production of Leapmotor cars in their big production site in Poland, which originates from a FIAT investment in the 1950ies.
Let's see how that turns out.