In Europe, Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan partnered with Chinese carmakers to produce vehicles
- Faced with overcapacity in their European factories following the downturn in the European market and pressure from Chinese carmakers, Stellantis, Ford, and Nissan have decided to welcome Chinese automakers with open arms , offering them access to their own factories in Europe. This strategy, which favors sharing an industrial site over closing it, allows for:
1. to European carmakers to make optimal use of their currently oversized European industrial tool.
2. to allow Chinese carmakers to produce and sell their models in Europe without being subject to the European surtax on vehicles produced in China.
- Stellantis was one of the first to adopt this strategy, announcing that the Chinese company Leapmotor would produce vehicles at Stellantis's Zaragoza plant in Spain. Stellantis is now reportedly considering selling its Villaverde plant in Spain to the Chinese carmaker to produce its own vehicles, replacing the Citroën C4 and C4X. Finally, a new Opel vehicle, based on a Leapmotor model, is slated for launch in 2028 and will be produced in Zaragoza.
- Ford, for its part, is in discussions with the Chinese company Geely regarding the sale of part of its Valencia plant, where the Ford Kuga SUV is currently produced but which is suffering from significant overcapacity following the discontinuation of the Ford Mondeo, Galaxy, S-Max, and Connect. A new Ford SUV could even be launched based on a Geely model to replace the Kuga .
- As for Nissan, it has just announced that Chery will produce several of its models from 2027 onwards in its underutilized British factory in Sunderland.