KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Following its debut in Malaysian markets in October last year, Chinese car manufacturer Leapmotor launched its local assembly operations for its electric vehicles (EVs) with Stellantis at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday.

The EVs will be manufactured at Stellantis’ Gurun plant in Kedah. This initiative comes with an investment of RM24 million from Stellantis International and Stellantis Asia-Pacific. The company plans to officially start the production of locally-assembled Leapmotor models, starting with its C10 EV, by the end of 2025.

Stellantis India and Asia-Pacific chief operating officer Ashwani Muppasani could not comment whether the locally-assembled C10 EVs, currently sold for RM159,000, would be priced lower. Ashwani only said that the company intends for prices to remain competitive.

Leapmotor International CEO and Stellantis China chief operating officer Tianshu Xin said that Malaysia will also serve as the company’s regional manufacturing hub, designed to serve not just the domestic market, but also the entire Asean region.

“This initiative not only underscores our dedication to the region, but also emphasises Malaysia’s pivotal role in achieving our global goal of establishing an EV production powerhouse,” said Xin.

Malaysia's place as the regional hub was chosen due to the initiative aligning with both Stellantis' “Built in Asean for Asean” roadmap and Malaysia's National Automotive Policy 2030.

“Malaysia continues to be a crucial and strategic vehicle hub for [Leapmotor]. Not only technically, but also manufacturing-wise, to serve Asean markets. Along with LeapMotor’ C10… we're planning to bring other models right behind,” said Ashwani.

He added that local assembly operations will establish scalable and efficient EV production for middle- to high-income Malaysians, and soon other Asean consumers, strengthening industrial growth, fostering technology transfer, and enhancing regional trade and investment.

Currently, Leapmotor is in the process of bringing in suppliers to manufacture its EVs in Malaysia, with full production on track to begin end-2025. By 2026 and 2027, Leapmotor plans to start exporting its EVs from Malaysia to neighbouring countries, with the end goal of exporting to the global market by 2030.

To meet the potential rise in demand for global exports, Stellantis is looking to expand its Gurun plant — which currently has a capacity of 60,000 — in the years to come.