Stellantis and Leapmotor to Jointly Produce Opel Electric SUV in Spain Starting 2028

Stellantis announced it will expand its strategic partnership with Leapmotor, paving the way for the Chinese automaker to start production of a model for sale in the European market in 2028. The two companies will jointly develop an electric SUV under the Opel brand. Production of the jointly developed Opel electric SUV will take place at Stellantis' plant in Zaragoza, Spain.

The partnership expansion deal was announced late last week. It builds on Stellantis' acquisition of an approximately 21% stake in Leapmotor in 2023. Stellantis owns Jeep, Dodge, Fiat and Chrysler. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa spoke at the FT Future of the Car summit on Tuesday.

"Obviously, Chinese OEMs are strong players that are coming with a lot of power to Europe … but also we might look at others," Filosa said. "Leapmotor is a Chinese partner that we have — and we really appreciate that partnership. " The moves come as other Western automakers explore similar arrangements with Chinese partners.

Ford is in talks with China's Geely to create a European partnership. Volkswagen has said it is open to sharing under-utilized European factories with Chinese car brands. Transport & Environment's Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains, said the deal is a win-win over the short term but masks some challenges for legacy auto giants in the long run.

Com. " She said it is important for European carmakers that still want to be in business in 2030 to continue developing their own electric models in parallel. Stellantis shares fell as much as 10% after first-quarter results.

Eric Haan is director of the Stellantis Poissy plant. A photograph of employees was taken at a Leap Energy factory owned by Leapmotor in Huzhou, China's Zhejiang province on April 26, 2026.

Com reported that the recent tie-up is seen as a watershed moment for the future of European carmaking.