Leapmotor starts B10 production at Stellantis's Zaragoza plant

Leapmotor has started manufacturing its B10 electric SUV at Stellantis's Figueruelas plant near Zaragoza, the two companies said at an event on 19 October 2026 attended by Aragon president Jorge Azcón and Spain's industry secretary, Jordi García Brustenga. The plant already builds the Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208 and Lancia Ypsilon.

Danilo Annese, Leapmotor's European CEO, cited shorter supply chains and more stable supply as the main reasons for building in Spain: "We are in Europe; we want to stay in Europe." Building inside the EU also avoids the countervailing duties Brussels has imposed on Chinese-made electric vehicles since autumn 2024, but Annese presented that as secondary.

Why Zaragoza

Stellantis said it chose Figueruelas for its quality, industrial experience and available capacity. The capacity point matters: output at the plant fell from about 470,000 vehicles in 2019 to 304,000 in 2023, according to the Global Times. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa put utilisation of the group's European plants at around 60% for 2025, and an AlixPartners analysis cited by heise puts the average at 46%, with 14 of 24 European plants below 50%. Filosa has said he does not want to close plants to fix the gap.

The UGT union said the plant advertised 450 to 500 positions for the B10, on temporary contracts of six months to a year, heise reported. Production was planned at 40,000 vehicles a year, electrive reported. Neither company has disclosed first-year output.

A second attempt after Poland

Zaragoza is Leapmotor's second attempt at European assembly. The first was the T03 compact at Stellantis's Tychy plant in Poland, which was discontinued. The B10's chassis comes from Lieder Automotive in nearby Borja, a joint venture between Duoli Technology and Fagor Ederlan.

Silvia Vernetti, who has run joint ventures and the strategic plan at Stellantis since May 2026, framed the launch as industrial policy: "The electric transition must also be an industrial transition." Leapmotor founder Zhu Jiangming said: "Our roots are in China and our ambition is global."

The car

The B10 is a 4.51-metre battery-electric SUV with lithium iron phosphate batteries of 56.2 or 67.1 kWh. Leapmotor quotes a WLTP range of up to 434 km, and 361 km for the smaller pack. Autoevolution lists a Spanish starting price of €23,900; electrive reports German prices from €32,900. A range-extender version carries an 18.8 kWh battery and a 50-litre tank, with a 1.5-litre engine that generates electricity rather than driving the wheels. Leapmotor claims up to 900 km of WLTP range for that setup.

The Opel SUV and Madrid

Zaragoza's next job could be an Opel. Stellantis and Leapmotor are developing a battery-electric SUV of around 4.50 metres, positioned between the Frontera and Grandland, with a potential production start in 2028. Leapmotor would supply the electronic architecture, battery and powertrain; Opel would handle the chassis, steering, design and user interface. Stellantis says feasibility studies are under way and final contracts and approvals are missing, and that it does not guarantee the projects will proceed as described or at all.

Under the proposed plans, a new line would be added at Figueruelas to take both vehicles alongside existing output. Opel designs the car in Rüsselsheim, with development teams in Germany and China, and the partners have said development should take under two years. At the Villaverde plant in Madrid, where the Citroën C4 is approaching the end of production, a Leapmotor model is planned from the first half of 2028. Stellantis is discussing transferring the plant itself to Leapmotor International's Spanish subsidiary. Stellantis owns 20% of Leapmotor, electrive reported; it acquired a stake of about 21% in October 2023 for €1.5 billion, according to Automotiv. The joint venture is 51% Stellantis and 49% Leapmotor. Stellantis has not named the Madrid model or given production numbers there.

What happens next

Leapmotor's quality chief, Ding Yongfei, said Zaragoza will take three more model series in 2027: the B05, the A10 sold in Europe as the B03X, and the A05 sold as the B03. For the B05, Leapmotor has not said when production starts, how many cars a year it expects or what the project will cost, autoevolution reported.