Stellantis’ JV approved, gaining exclusive rights to build and sell Leapomotor EVs outside of China
Five months after signing a proposed joint venture with EV automaker Leapmotor, Stellantis has reportedly gained regulatory approval in China to continue its stake. This deal is the first of its kind for a Western automaker and gives Stellantis the exclusive rights to build, export, and sell Leapmotor brand EVs outside of China, and it is already mulling some exciting markets for them.
Today’s report is the latest milestone in a joint venture process that began in October 2022, when Stellantis claimed a $1.6 billion stake (21%) in Leapmotor – a prominent automaker in China. The proposed joint venture gave Stellantis a 51% stake in the JV with the goal of expanding its portfolio of lower cost EVs in markets of Europe.
Following the initial signing by both automakers, Stellantis said the venture was targeting 500,000 EV sales outside of the Chinese market by the end of the decade. By mid-February, Stellantis shared more details of its plans for the joint venture, explaining intentions to build Leapmotor EVs in Turin, Italy, to serve EU markets – targeting 150,000 units annually to begin.
While seeing OEMs from separate continents collaborate on EVs is nothing new, those partnerships usually pertain to sales in the Chinese market. More and more EV imports are making their way into China at affordable prices, stirring up concerns from local automakers and their respective governments.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (never one to pull any punches) clapped back, stating that if EU governments try to block the sale of EVs built in China, the auto conglomerate will assemble them elsewhere, possibly in North America.
We will have to see how this all plays out as Stellantis’ joint venture with Leapmotor has reportedly been approved, paving the way for the right to start assembling those EVs wherever it wants outside of China.
Stellantis closer to building EVs in China for the EU
Per Reuters, two sources familiar with the matter state that a regulator in China has approved the Stellantis Leapmotor joint venture. One source elaborated, saying the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in China has given its blessing, but the deal’s regulatory approval in other markets is still pending.
In an industry first for Western automakers, Stellantis gains the exclusive rights to build, export, and sell Leapmotor EVs outside of China. Leapmotor told Reuters the JV will begin with its all-electric C10 model, which is expected to begin sales in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain soon.
The Chinese automaker also shared that its first EV shipments to Europe could come as early as the second half of 2024. Rising tensions between Europe and China over low-cost EVs will play a huge factor in how this joint venture shakes out and whether Stellantis decides to take assembly of the Leapmotor vehicles onto its own turf or even North America to work around and export hurdles and retroactive tariffs being threatened.
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LiveWire, the electric motorcycle brand spun out of Harley-Davidson, has just announced its latest electric motorcycle model. The new LiveWire S2 Alpanista is built on the same platform as the brand’s last two models, leveraging the Arrow platform as a versatile foundation for several diverse bikes.
The Arrow platform first received its debut with the LiveWire S2 Del Mar, which was then followed by the S2 Mulholland.
LiveWire announced that a high-performance electric maxi-scooter would be produced on the Arrow platform, but not before the company rolled out the S2 Alpinista. “The Alpinista is LiveWire’s first sport standard,” explained the company, “equipped with 17” wheels and tires, blending the best of street, sport, and hyper-tourer characteristics.”
The recently unveiled S2 Alpinista is mechanically quite similar to the two previous models sharing the platform. The 10.5 kWh battery that serves as the main structure of the bike will offer a maximum range of 120 miles (193 km) per charge under city riding conditions. It can be recharged with a Level 2 charger from 20-80% in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The 433 lb (196 kg) bike can achieve a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of just 3.0 seconds, thanks to its powerful 63 kW (84 hp) motor. The S2 Alpinista can also reach an electronically limited top speed of 99 mph (159 km/h).
Priced at US $15,999 and already available at LiveWire dealerships in North America and Europe, the S2 Alpinista officially becomes the most affordable LiveWire electric motorcycle available to date, undercutting the $16,249 S2 Del Mar electric street tracker and the $16,499 Mulholland electric sport cruiser.
“Alpinista reimagines the S2 by combining the urban agility of a supermoto with the do-it-all nature of a touring bike, creating a practical and thrilling sport standard,” explained the brand.
The smaller 17″ wheels help reduce the seat height of the bike, and combined with the Dunlop Roadsmart IV tires, the street-optimized bike is ideal for “both daily commutes and spirited rides through winding roads.”
The S2 Alpinista comes with 6-axis IMU from Bosch providing cornering-enhanced antilock braking and cornering-enhanced traction control systems, in addition to four preset ride modes and two custom modes.
Now the third model launched on the Arrow platform, the S2 Alpanista underscores the versatility of LiveWire’s workhorse. The approach was intended to allow the e-motorcycle offshoot to quickly innovate with multiple styles of motorcycles all sharing key structural and drivetrain components. The move has largely been seen as an engineering success, with three models hitting the road in under three years. However, sales have yet to reach targets set by LiveWire as the more premium electric motorcycle industry has experienced a rocky few years.
As a LiveWire S2 Del Mar owner myself, I can attest to both the performance and enjoyable experience of bikes built on the platform, though I do find myself in a somewhat smaller community than LiveWire had likely hoped for. With the backing of its powerful older brother H-D, which retains a controlling stake in the company, LiveWire has enjoyed the relative freedom to cruise for its first few years and focus on motorcycle development and rollouts, with profitability hopefully coming over the horizon in due time.
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