Stellantis weighs using Chinese technology to defend a German brand against the Chinese brands that are threatening it. By Stewart Burnett
Stellantis is reportedly in advanced talks with Leapmotor to jointly develop an Opel-branded electric SUV using the Chinese automaker’s platform, with production expected to take place at the company’s joint plant in Zaragoza, Spain in 2028. Sources told Reuters that the project, codenamed O3U, would share architecture with the Leapmotor B10 compact SUV, which will enter production at Zaragoza later this year.
Under the terms being discussed, Leapmotor would supply electronic and electrical architecture and key components while Opel handles the vehicle’s exterior design. A significant portion of development would take place in China. An agreement could be reached as early as this month; if successful then around 50,000 units could be produced annually at the Spanish facility.
Several conversations are reportedly ongoing between the two automakers; the O3U project is only the most advanced among them. Stellantis is also looking to engage Leapmotor for the next-generation Opel Mokka B, and has held preliminary discussions about an Alfa Romeo model based on the same architecture.
Early-stage talks on A-segment models for brands including Fiat are also under way, although those would require different production infrastructure. Historically, Fiat branded cars are produced in Mirafiori, Italy, and local unions have pushed back extensively on any outsourcing of manufacturing to other regions like Serbia.
For those following Stellantis’ strategic pivot over the last few months, the Leapmotor discussions should slot comfortably alongside other developments. The automaker took a US$26.5bn writedown earlier in 2026 related to scaling back its electrification plans, having concluded that its in-house STLA platforms were too expensive for the mass market. Beyond electric vehicles (EVs), this pullback also led to the cancellation of the SAE Level 3 Autodrive programme.
The merits of leaning on Leapmotor, under such circumstances, are straightforward. As it stands, Stellantis holds approximately a 20% stake in the Chinese brand through a partnership formed in 2023. Developing vehicles alongside it would, in theory, offer faster development cycles and lower engineering costs than could be achieved by Stellantis alone.
Opel forms a core part of Stellantis’ European strategy, accounts for around 21% of Stellantis’ European sales, with Germany as its largest single market. The brand dropped its target of going fully electric in Europe by 2028, and the Leapmotor deal provides a route to competitive EV pricing—targeting sub-€25,000 (US$29,250) and sub-€30,000 segments—that its internal development costs had made unviable. Exterior design and driving calibration will remain in Rüsselsheim; the underlying technology will not.
Whether European consumers will accept that arrangement is the open question. Opel has marketed itself on German engineering credentials for decades; the O3U will carry German styling over a Chinese platform developed largely in China. Stellantis is, in effect, using Chinese technology to defend Opel against the Chinese brands that have been eroding its market.