Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa listens as U.S. President Donald Trump pronounces new gasoline economic system requirements, within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 3, 2025.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa stated he believes there’s alternative to develop the automaker’s partnerships in North America to fill vegetation and enhance gross sales — and doubtlessly to provide Chinese language-branded autos exterior of the U.S.
Filosa on Thursday stated the corporate “for certain” sees alternative in increasing its manufacturing and sale of autos with Chinese language automaker Zhejiang Leapmotor Know-how Co. to Mexico in addition to doubtlessly Canada.
“I imagine that there’s area in Mexico. … There may be perhaps area in Canada. We’ll see,” he stated throughout a information convention after an investor day on the firm’s North American headquarters close to Detroit. “Now there isn’t any area in the US. We do not see that.”
Legacy automakers, particularly ones with deep roots within the area resembling Stellantis, have been involved about Chinese language automakers getting into North America. U.S. executives have expressed worries that the operations may very well be a gateway to American customers.
Amid commerce tensions with the U.S., Canada is at present permitting 49,000 Chinese language-made electrical autos to be imported for retail gross sales yearly at a tariff price of 6.1%.
A notable possibility in Canada is a big Stellantis meeting plant in Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The plant hasn’t produced a brand new automobile for the reason that finish of manufacturing of the Dodge Charger and Challenger in December 2023.
Bloomberg Information final month reported Stellantis was discussing choices for constructing electrical autos in Canada with Leapmotor, citing individuals conversant in the matter.
Filosa stated Stellantis’ tie-ups with Leapmotor proceed to develop as a method for the corporate to develop its gross sales, study from its Chinese language counterpart and share capital bills.
Since 2023, Stellantis has additionally been a 51% majority proprietor of a three way partnership with Leapmotor that features the unique rights for the sale and manufacturing of their merchandise exterior better China.
Stellantis, which is the biggest shareholder of Leapmotor with a 21% stake, earlier this week introduced an expanded partnership with the Chinese language automaker in addition to the formation of a European three way partnership with Chinese language automaker Dongfeng.
Within the U.S., Filosa stated he additionally nonetheless sees alternatives for the corporate to associate with non-China manufacturers, like with the announcement it made earlier this week to discover collaborations with Jaguar Land Rover.
“We see potential to associate in [the] U.S. with different tasks,” he stated throughout the media briefing. “JLR, it’s a partnership that may work very nicely for each events since you see that the profile of what we industrialized, construct, shouldn’t be that totally different … so there’s some synergy within the product conception that we will share with JLR.”
