It's official: Stellantis and Leapmotor are collaborating on the development of the Citroën 2CV and FIAT Koala

Stellantis Group announced a few months ago what is likely one of its most ambitious initiatives to date: the E-Car project, through which it will develop a family of European-made electric urban vehicles with a target price of 15,000 euros. So far only two models have been confirmed, the upcoming Citroën 2CV and FIAT Koala; however, there are rumors that Opel and Jeep might also have their own versions.

Until now, the Franco-Italian-American group had kept secret the platform that these models will use, with a launch scheduled for 2028. Rumors suggested the Citroën C3 and FIAT Grande Panda’s Smart Car, the FIAT 500’s STLA City, or even the Leapmotor T03 platform (recall that Stellantis holds a 21% stake in the Chinese company, as well as exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute its vehicles abroad).

Now, the French newspaper L'Argus has shed some light on the matter. Apparently, Leapmotor and Stellantis are jointly developing a new electric platform. Ned Curic, head of product development and technology at Stellantis, confirmed this information during the 2026 Paris Motor Show.

"Our City platform has been on the market for some time now, and it’s something we do well. But we’re learning from Leapmotor how to move faster. We’ve learned to design a car in two years." The executive particularly praises the speed of the Chinese company. "In some ways, they operate like a West Coast tech company. They don’t follow exactly the same processes as us. The way they design their electric architecture or software is very helpful to us."

Leapmotor’s expertise reaches Stellantis

All indications suggest that the replacement for the Leapmotor T03 will use this platform, meaning it will be manufactured at the Pomigliano d’Arco plant (Naples, Italy) alongside the Citroën 2CV and FIAT Koala. In any case, Curic insists it is a European development, though collaboration with his Chinese partners will be crucial for the project to succeed.

We collaborate with Chinese companies, but we bring the technology development and staff back to our European design offices to carry out this development on a larger scale. It’s truly designed in Europe, manufactured in Europe. If the development is done in China, part of the knowledge transfer is lost and there can be resistance. It cannot be integrated into a larger system because there are language barriers, tool barriers, system barriers... Here, everything is done with our tools, in our systems, in English.

Curic states that this work will benefit other Stellantis programs. “It’s very difficult to manufacture an A-segment car and still make a profit. One of our development principles is to simplify as much as possible while keeping the car safe, pleasant, and practical, and considering the need for it to be affordable. We believe we have designed this A-segment platform with all the necessary elements to be competitive in price.”