Vauxhall Plans New Low-Cost Electric SUV — With Assistance From Leapmotor
Leapmotor achieved 1 million cumulative EV sales in September.
May 9, 20264 seconds
Steve Hanley
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Stellantis has forged a partnership with China’s Leapmotor. Stellantis acquired Vauxhall after General Motors cast it and Opel adrift a decade ago. Vauxhall today is known for bargain basement vehicles like the Chevette, a barebones vehicle designed for those on a budget. Now, it appears that Vauxhall will offer an inexpensive battery electric car, but one that is larger than the Chevette and more of an SUV, in keeping with the latest sales trends.
An Electric Chevette?
While details about the new Vauxhall has not yet been revealed, Top Gear has already dubbed the new car an “electric Chevette.” That’s not quite accurate, because the Chevette was diminutive in a way that most modern cars are not. According to Top Gear, the new car will be 4.5 meters (14′ 9″) long. The previous Vauxhall Chevette was about a half a meter shorter.
The new car will be designed at Opel-Vauxhall’s studio in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and developed by hardware engineers there. But the motor, electronics, and battery will all come from Leapmotor. In a press release on May 8, 2026, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said: “This plan to expand our successful partnership with Leapmotor — a trusted peer and one of the fastest growing, most respected new energy vehicle producers globally — is a true win-win for both of us. It is expected to support production and advance localization in Europe of world manufacturing of electric vehicles at affordable prices to meet customers’ real world needs. Today’s announcement reflects our intent to deepen our partnership and take one more step towards even greater collaborations in the future.”
Zhu Jiangming, Leapmotor founder and CEO, added: “Leapmotor’s leading edge technologies, combined with Stellantis’ global reach, deep regional roots, and much-loved automotive brands, would make this a uniquely powerful partnership. Our joint venture, Leapmotor International, has quickly shown its benefits for both partners and in less than three years, has seen us launch our brand on five continents and significantly grow our international reach and reputation.”
Stellantis & Leapmotor Joint Venture
The joint venture between Stellantis and Leapmotor dates to October of 2023, when Leapmotor International was launched. Stellantis has 51 percent of the partnership while Leapmotor has 49 percent. Sales in Europe totaled more than 40,000 vehicles in 2025. Last year, LPMI expanded its activities to South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The brand began sales in Mexico last month.
According to the press statement, the new battery electric SUV — which is unnamed as of this moment — will be manufactured at the Stellantis Figueruelas factory in Zaragoza, Spain, beginning in 2028. Getting a new vehicle to market so quickly will be quite a feat in an industry where product development typically takes 3 to 5 years.
Vauxhall-Opel boss Florian Huettl told Top Gear: “We learned from the processes that are known as ‘China speed’. We use the development processes and sequences and more digital solutions from Leapmotor — and Chinese development centers everywhere. We inspire and connect Rüsselsheim engineering with Leapmotor processes.”
Moving At China Speed
But he stresses this isn’t a re-badged Chinese car. While elements of the underbody and all the electric system are from Leapmotor, his team has clear areas of responsibility. “We will use the fastest development processes and sequences that have been developed by Leapmotor that are Chinese, so we can be more digital — and we have a very clear sharing of responsibilities. We [will] ensure Opel-Vauxhall skills on everything that relates to drivetrain, steering, packaging, seating, lighting, interior that you know from our brand.” He says it will have its own design and cabin, complete with physical buttons, not a screen interface that is typical of Leapmotor products. Volkswagen has also added physical controls to its latest offering, the ID. Polo.
To keep cost down, the new car will be equipped with an LFP battery. Huettl says this cheaper chemistry when designed and built with Chinese expertise really cuts cost. “Affordability matters to our customers.” He declined to say exactly which platform the car will use, other than to say “it will be an evolution of something that exists,” but the base is set to be Leapmotor’s existing architecture. That will enable the new vehicle to make extensive use of the Chinese firm’s components. Leapmotor has its own digital architecture and produces around 65% of all of the parts used in its own vehicles, a key reason why it is able to develop cars at comparatively low cost.
A Popular Market Segment
Autocar reports that while Vauxhall already offers three crossovers and SUVs that sit broadly in the C-segment, the size of the segment means there is room for another. Huetll said vehicles that are around 4.5 meters long occupy “a very popular spot in many markets, including Germany and the UK.” That segment includes models such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Elroq. “We see this as a vehicle that gives us additional coverage in the segment,” he said. He declined to share specifics about prices for the new model, but hinted that “we have been exploring how to make electric mobility affordable, exciting and accessible for our customer base.”
While the new SUV will be built on a production line with other Leapmotor models, Huettl said it won’t merely be a badge-engineered version of one, insisting that “we are co-developing a car that will be our own machine using some of their components.” He added that the company is “still looking into the best way” to integrate the infotainment system. That’s a challenge because Vauxhall uses a completely different operating system than Leapmotor does. But he said the new model will “feature interface technology that you will see in other Vauxhall products” and, crucially, “we will use buttons.”
Huettl confirmed that the new SUV will take on a name from Vauxhall–Opel’s past. “We like the success of the Frontera, including the name. We have made a decision on the name we use, and we will use the recipe of finding something very suitable in our own history.” He wouldn’t confirm what name will be used, but sources told Autocar that it won’t be Manta.
Unlike the US, Europe is not petrified of Chinese technology. Instead, it has built a system of tariffs designed to promote lower-cost electric vehicles while offering some protection to local manufacturers. By contrast, the US has erected enormous trade barriers designed to insulate domestic manufacturers from any hint of competition from China. One is a rational strategy. The other is a disaster in the making.
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