SpainLeapmotor said at the Paris Motor Show on 12 October that production of the all-electric B10 has officially started at its first European factory, Stellantis’s Zaragoza plant in Spain. The release says the plant will build cars “specifically for European customers”. It gives no start date, no volume and no date for the first deliveries.
Pre-production and the series start
In September the Spanish outlet TestCoches reported that Zaragoza had so far built only pre-production B10s, used to tune processes and train staff, and that series production was due in mid-October. It also noted that neither company had said whether the plant would build the electric B10, the range-extender version or both. Leapmotor’s release now calls it the “all-electric B10”.
As of 21 September, TestCoches said, every B10 delivered in Spain still came from China. The first Zaragoza cars have to reach dealers before that changes.
The import duty question
TestCoches gives the EU duty on a China-built B10 as 30.7%: the standard 10% plus an additional 20.7%. To avoid the extra duty, a car has to gain enough European value to count as European-made for customs purposes. Leapmotor’s release does not say whether the Zaragoza car meets that test, and neither Stellantis nor Leapmotor has said whether any saving will reach the price.
What follows at Zaragoza
TestCoches says Leapmotor confirmed an initial capacity of 40,000 cars a year in December, with the B05 to follow in 2027 and the A05 and A10 later. Leapmotor International, the joint venture that sells the cars outside China, is 51% owned by Stellantis.
At the same show Leapmotor gave the B03 urban hatchback its European premiere and displayed the flagship D19 SUV.
