Stellantis and Dongfeng plan European JV to distribute and build Chinese EVs
Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) and China's Dongfeng Motor Group announced their intention to establish a new, Europe-based joint venture to manage the sales, distribution, and potential localized manufacturing of Dongfeng’s electric vehicles across the continent.
The Amsterdam-headquartered automotive giant will hold a controlling 51% equity stake in the proposed entity, while state-owned Dongfeng will retain the remaining 49%.
The strategic collaboration leverages a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding designed to deepen a 34-year cross-border industrial relationship.
The newly formed company will initially focus on the commercial distribution of Voyah, Dongfeng’s premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, within select European territories.
Beyond downstream retail operations, the partnership will establish joint purchasing and engineering divisions inside Europe to structurally capture cost efficiencies from Dongfeng’s established components supply chain in China.
A primary operational objective of the joint venture is the evaluation of localized production lines to meet the European Union's strict "Made in Europe" content rules.
The manufacturers have initiated preliminary discussions to assemble Dongfeng NEVs at Stellantis’ underutilized assembly plant in Rennes, France.
Localizing production would insulate the Chinese brand from heavy import duties recently imposed by the European Commission on battery-electric vehicles imported directly from China.
The Rennes-la-Janais facility currently runs below capacity, operating a single production line for the Citroën C5 Aircross.
Local labor representatives, including France's CFDT union, confirmed that shifting assembly capacity to Chinese EV models would provide critical volume support to the domestic factory infrastructure.
The corporate transaction mirrors a blueprint Stellantis executed with Chinese EV startup Leapmotor, where a similar 51%-led international joint venture was utilized to launch budget-friendly electric models across southern Europe.
The move comes at a critical juncture for both automakers.
Dongfeng, which recorded only 3,210 European vehicle deliveries in 2025 across all its sub-brands, has set an aggressive global target of 4 million vehicle sales by 2030, with over 40% generated outside domestic borders.
For Stellantis, the partnership secures immediate access to low-cost electric platform architectures ahead of its upcoming capital markets presentation.