Stellantis has put on hold the production of the T03, the small Chinese electric car by Leapmotor, at its Polish factory in Tychy, where the new Alfa Romeo Junior is also produced. Starting from March 30, assembly was officially stopped, and the automotive group has begun looking around for new production solutions. For Stellantis, therefore, a significant relocation appears on the horizon.
Stellantis halts production of Leapmotor T03 in Poland: tariffs are involved
Lately, it seems that tariffs are all anyone talks about. Mainly after those announced by Donald Trump, but not only. Europe had also announced tariffs for electric cars produced in China, and this is the case for the T03 city car. Stellantis confirmed the production stoppage with a diplomatic yet vague statement: “We are still super committed to bringing Leapmotor models to Europe, but we are exploring different production options.” However, there was no mention of where or when.
Meanwhile, there remains a fact about the joint venture: the collaboration with Leapmotor is going through a somewhat turbulent moment. Last year, the plan to build the Chinese brand’s second model, the B10 crossover, in Poland had already fallen through. It appears that Beijing, between handshakes, whispered to its companies to avoid investments in European countries that were too enthusiastic about anti-Chinese car tariffs. And Poland is precisely one of those that has pushed for these tariffs.
Now attention is shifting to Spain, which has stayed away from the tariff controversies and, coincidentally, is given pole position to host the production of the Leapmotor B10 EV. Stellantis, which holds 51% of the Leapmotor International joint venture, still has the upper hand: it has exclusive rights to produce and sell Leapmotor cars outside China.
For now, the T03 remains on pause. And while the Chinese wait for instructions from Beijing, and Stellantis tries not to trip over the barbed wire of geopolitics, Europe finds itself with a Chinese electric city car without a permanent home.