Stellantis Launches "E-Car" Project: Partnering with Leapmotor (零跑汽车) to Penetrate €15,000 EV Segment with Italian Mass Production by 2028

On May 19, European automotive giant Stellantis officially announced the launch of its compact economy pure electric vehicle project, codenamed "E-Car." This initiative represents the most disruptive localized defense and counterattack by the European automotive industry in response to the global sweep of highly cost-effective Chinese electric vehicles. The "E" in the project is officially defined by four core attributes: European, Emotion, Electric, and Environmental friendliness. The first model is explicitly scheduled to commence mass production in 2028 at the Pomigliano d'Arco plant near Naples, Italy. Antonio Filosa, Executive of Stellantis, emphasized that the project aims to revive the "mass mobility" tradition that once carried the highlights of the European auto industry. By utilizing a multi-brand matrix, the group will introduce stylish and affordable European-localized electric vehicles to reverse the persistent decline of the European A-segment and B-segment entry-level car markets caused by soaring costs in recent years.

Behind this announcement, which carries strong geopolitical defensive undertones, lies a new paradigm for the globalization of the Chinese automotive supply chain: technological feedback and architectural co-creation. According to authoritative media reports, Stellantis has reached a comprehensive joint development agreement with Leapmotor (零跑汽车) to build the "E-Car" platform based on Leapmotor's (零跑汽车) next-generation, highly integrated pure electric chassis technology. This means that although the new vehicles will carry the bloodlines of historic European brands like Fiat, Citroën, and Opel and bear European-made labels to satisfy EU rules of origin, their underlying powertrain computing power, electronic control logic, and battery pack assembly will be fully supported by Leapmotor's (零跑汽车) Chinese technological foundation. This deep binding significantly shortens the R&D cycle and is expected to compress the vehicle's retail price to an astonishing €15,000 (approximately $17,500). This positioning not only targets low-cost models like the Dacia Spring but also marks the first time a European-produced vehicle possesses the cost-control foundation to withstand the market-clearing price competition from Chinese giants like BYD (比亚迪).

From a macro-policy perspective, the "E-Car" project has received exceptional backing from European authorities since its inception. The European Commission has officially recognized the project as a "national-level industrial demonstration" that supports European local design, safeguards European manufacturing jobs, and drives the popularization of pure electric vehicles. The EU is currently drafting a new "M1E" micro-electric vehicle classification regulation (similar to Japan's K-Car rules). Under this regulation, locally manufactured pure electric vehicles under 4.2 meters in length will receive high-quota carbon emission "super credit" rewards, providing the strongest regulatory escort for Stellantis to push toward an annual production capacity of hundreds of thousands of units at the Pomigliano plant. Industry experts note that 2026 is a year marked by high trade barriers between China and Europe. The collaboration between Leapmotor (零跑汽车) and Stellantis effectively bypasses political pitfalls like tariff hikes. By employing a brand-new approach—"Chinese soul, European shell, Made in Italy"—it establishes a new monument for Chinese intelligent manufacturing right in the core heartland of the European automotive industry.