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New Stellantis brand Leapmotor International won’t cannibalise sales from Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, but rather “present new opportunities for cross-shopping”, its CEO said, despite it having broadly similar brand values.

“We consider Leapmotor as complementary to the 14 brands we have in the family, for a number of reasons,” Tianshu Xin said. “Number one, Leapmotor is a pure-EV brand and hailing from China. Number two, it's complementary to what the Stellantis group has [in terms of technology]. Number three, how we position the brand in the family is different.

“For customers who are technology-savvy, maybe younger customers who enjoy technology, there are a lot of other functions. It’s like operating a mobile phone: you have so many functions. Different customers have different preferences from that perspective.”

Stellantis has invested €1.5 billion (£1.2bn) into the Leapmotor International firm that it has jointly formed with nascent Chinese EV maker Leapmotor, and it’s now leveraging its vast global operations to launch the brand across Europe, Oceania, South-East Asia, India, South America, the Middle East and North Africa, with the expectation that it will increase its sales to 250,000 this year and 500,000 in 2030.

“State-of-the-art technologies and the rapid growth that Leapmotor has been able to achieve in the past several years, plus its strong in-house vertical R&D capabilities and quality, are why we chose Leapmotor to build up this strategic alliance,” Xin said.

Key among this technology is Leapmotor’s ‘cell-to-chassis’ construction method, which, it claims, improves an EV’s battery layout, leaves more space for passengers and increases torsional rigidity (to the benefit of ride and handling), all while reducing production costs – and which, Xin said, could possibly be synergised with other Stellantis brands in the future.

The former PSA executive confirmed that Leapmotor International will launch three more EVs in Europe (including the UK by 2028), after the already-launched Leapmotor T03 city car and C10 family SUV: the B10 compact crossover, which is due to be presented at the Paris motor show, and then what are believed to be an E-segment SUV and a C-segment hatchback.

It also “has a plan” for bringing its extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) technology here, Xin told Autocar, citing huge demand from potential customers for an EV with a “1000km [620-mile] range”.

An EREV version of the C10 is already on sale in China with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 739-mile range on the Chinese test cycle – a powertrain shared with the C11 SUV and C01 saloon.

While the C10 is made at a Leapmotor factory in China and therefore in line to be hit with an 21% import tariff into the EU, the much cheaper T03 is built at Stellantis’s factory in Poland, on the former Fiat 500 production line, apparently for a similar price to the Chinese-market version.

Xin denied that building the T03 within the EU was purely an insurance policy against any future tariffs, saying: “If you look at our target audience, the customer is very price-sensitive. So by localising production, one of the biggest chunks you save is on transportation costs.

"All the decisions made are not just based on one factor but based on a holistic business case assessment. And the end game is to provide a mobility solution to customers around the globe.”

Citroën will provide a first look at its future when it unveils an all-new concept car at the upcoming Paris motor show.

The French brand said the show car will sit “in a major segment”, suggesting that it's most likely a B- or C-segment hatchback or SUV – although Citroën has yet to provide further detail. 

It added that the facelifted Citroën C4 hatchback and C4 X saloon will be shown alongside the new concept.

As previously reported by Autocar, the duo will receive new lighting signatures and more squared-off bumpers, inspired by the Oli concept that was shown two years ago.

It’s possible that the unveiling of the facelifted C4 alongside the new concept is no mere coincidence: it's due for replacement around 2026 or 2027, which would also fit the traditional timeline of taking a concept through to production. 

Alternatively, it may be a radical model inspired by the Ami quadricycle. Although Citroën hasn't officially hinted at any such plans, CEO Thierry Koskas previously told Autocar that “we are going to extend the Ami line-up and do many changes”. “We will reveal everything in the Paris motor show,” he added.

The new Citroën C3 Aircross will also make its public debut at the show. The crossover is based on the same Stellantis Smart Car platform as the new C3 supermini but has been stretched to 4390mm long to fit a small third row of seats.

It’s set to become one of the UK’s cheapest seven-seaters when it arrives next year.