Against the backdrop of high tariffs imposed by Europe on Chinese electric vehicles, the localization of Chinese car companies in Europe has fully accelerated this year. Manufacturers such as Leapmotor and XPeng have shifted from building their own factories to "surrogate birth"—having European factories produce their cars on consignment.
According to a report by Economic Observer on the 3rd, currently, at every stage from production to sales, various forms of cooperation between Chinese car companies and European enterprises are being rapidly established. This includes collaborations with European auto parts giant Magna, joint development with global tier-one suppliers such as Bosch, as well as partnerships with leading dealership groups across European countries for market promotion.
The report states that Chinese companies are cooperating with every possible partner to quickly establish an automotive brand ecosystem for Chinese cars in Europe.
Although local production in Europe has become an inevitable choice for Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers, not every company chooses to build its own factory in Europe. The two latest disclosed plans for European production both employ a light-asset "surrogacy" model.
Specifically, Leapmotor is leveraging Stellantis Group’s factory in Spain for production, aiming to start rolling out Leapmotor electric vehicles there by 2026. XPeng, meanwhile, is cooperating with Magna to produce XPeng electric vehicles in its Austrian plant, with production commencing this year. There are also reports that GAC is seeking the possibility of Magna serving as its contract manufacturer.
Since October last year, the EU has imposed punitive anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles exported to Europe, with the combined general tariff rates reaching as high as 45.3%.