Stellantis begins production of the Leapmotor B10 in Spain
Stellantis and Leapmotor have officially begun mass production of the Leapmotor B10 at their factory in Figueruelas near Saragossa, Spain. This is the Chinese brand’s second attempt at manufacturing in Europe. The B05, B03X, and B03 models are set to follow next year.
Image: Leapmotor
The Leapmotor B10 will now be manufactured at the Figueruelas plant, where the Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208, and Lancia Ypsilon are already produced. On the official launch of production, officials from both companies, along with Aragon’s regional president Jorge Azcón and Spain’s Industry Secretary Jordi García Brustenga, visited Zaragoza recently. Stellantis cites the plant’s quality, industrial expertise, and available capacity as reasons for choosing this location. The latter point should be taken literally—company CEO Antonio Filosa estimated that European Stellantis plants will be around 60 percent fully occupied by 2025.
"The energy transition must also be an industrial transformation," said Silvia Vernetti. "If our partnership is the strategy, then Saragossa is proof of that." Since May 2026, Vernetti has been in charge of joint ventures and the implementation of the strategy plan at Stellantis, reporting directly to the company’s CEO. Leapmotor founder Zhu Jiangming put it this way: "Our roots are in China, but our ambition is global." Manufacturing in Spain brings their own technology closer to European customers.
Second attempt after Tychy
Leapmotor initially had the T03 compact car assembled at Stellantis’ plant in Tychy, Poland, but halted the project. In Spain, the production is on a larger scale. The chassis for the B10 is supplied by Lieder Automotive from nearby Borja, a joint venture between Duoli Technology and Fagor Ederlan. Initially, 40,000 vehicles per year were planned.
The B10 is an electric SUV that is 4.51 meters long. It uses lithium-iron-phosphate batteries (LFP) with capacities of 56.2 or 67.1 kWh. The most powerful version delivers up to 168 kW (228 horsepower) and has a range of up to 434 kilometers according to WLTP standards. In Germany, the new B10 as a pure electric vehicle starts at 32,900 euros. In Austria, private customers who sign a purchase contract by the end of the year can get the entry-level B10 Life model with a 1,000 euro discount for 28,990 euros.
Three more models coming next year
According to previous statements from Leapmotors’ quality chief Ding Yongfei, Saragossa is set to take over three additional models by 2027: the compact B05, which is sold in China as the Lafa 5, as well as the smaller A10 and A05 models. In Europe, these two models bear different names. Here, the A10 is called the B03X, likely to avoid conflicts with Audi. The A05 appears as the B03 and was displayed at the Paris Auto Show last week.
Manufacturing in the EU allows companies to avoid the compensation tariffs that Brussels has imposed since autumn 2024 on electric vehicles produced in China. Despite this, Europe head Danilo Annese cites mainly shorter delivery routes and more stable supply chains as reasons: “We are in Europe, we want to stay in Europe.”
Opel will use Leapmotor technology starting in 2028.
Stellantis itself will also rely on Leapmotor in Saragossa. Together with the Chinese company, Opel is developing an electric SUV about 4.50 meters long, positioned between the Frontera and Grandland models, with production set to begin in Saragossa starting in 2028. Leapmotor provides the electronic architecture, battery, and powertrain, while Opel handles the suspension, steering, design, and user interface. Stellantis holds a 20 percent stake in Leapmotor and a 51 percent stake in the joint venture Leapmotor International, which manages sales outside of China.
The distribution network for these models in Europe is already in place: Leapmotor currently sells its products at over 1,020 locations across 36 European countries. The Chinese company also operates its own development center in Munich since March, the first outside of China.
media.stellantis.com (Stellantis and Leapmotor press release), leapmotor.net (prices in Germany), leapmotor.net (offers in Austria)