Leapmotor took about 1% of UK new car sales in June, according to Auto Express, and it is one of the more complicated Chinese brands to pin down. The company that designs and builds the cars is Chinese and listed in Hong Kong. The company that sells them in the UK is a Dutch-based joint venture run by Stellantis, the group behind Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroën. Since the end of 2025 a Chinese state-owned carmaker has held a stake too.

The parent: Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology

Leapmotor’s shares trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the code 9863. Its founder, Zhu Jiangming, is chairman and chief executive, according to CnEVPost.

Stellantis: largest shareholder

Stellantis became Leapmotor’s single largest shareholder in October 2023, when it invested €1.5 billion (about £1.3 billion at 7 Nov 2026 rates) for a stake that Stellantis puts at about 21%. Other reports describe it as about a fifth of the company.

That share has since been diluted slightly. When Leapmotor issued new shares to FAW at the end of 2025, Stellantis’s holding fell to 18.99%, according to both CnEVPost and Electrive. Electrive reports that Stellantis remains the largest single shareholder.

FAW: a 5% state-owned stake

On 28 December 2025 Leapmotor signed an agreement to sell new shares to FAW Equity Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of China FAW Group, the Chinese state-owned carmaker. The deal, disclosed to the Hong Kong exchange the next day, covers 74,832,245 domestic shares at CNY 50.03 each, raising CNY 3.74 billion (about £400 million at 7 Nov 2026 rates) for a 5% stake.

According to CnEVPost, about half the money is earmarked for research and development, with the rest split between working capital and expanding its sales and service networks. The two companies also agreed to work together on plug-in hybrid and range-extender powertrains through an FAW subsidiary. Neither CnEVPost nor Electrive reported when the share sale closed.

Leapmotor International: the company UK buyers deal with

Outside China, Leapmotor’s cars are not sold by Leapmotor itself. That job belongs to Leapmotor International, set up in October 2023, a joint venture owned 51% by Stellantis and 49% by Leapmotor, with its headquarters in Amsterdam. It holds the exclusive rights to sell and to manufacture Leapmotor products everywhere outside Greater China.

This is why UK Leapmotor showrooms sit within Stellantis’s retailer network. When the brand opened UK sales, Stellantis said its first sales points would rely on that network, and that its distribution network would support owners after purchase. Stellantis says Leapmotor International now has more than 850 sales and service points across Europe and shipped more than 40,000 cars there in 2025.

What changed in 2026

In May, Stellantis and Leapmotor said they intended to deepen the partnership. The plans include joint buying of parts through Leapmotor International to cut costs, a new Opel electric SUV built in Zaragoza, Spain, using Leapmotor-sourced components, possibly from 2028, and a new Leapmotor model for Stellantis’s Villaverde plant in Madrid, possibly from the first half of 2028. Transferring ownership of Villaverde to Leapmotor International’s Spanish subsidiary is under discussion. Stellantis stressed these were intentions, subject to final agreements and approvals, with no assurance they would go ahead.

CnEVPost reported on 13 October that Leapmotor had started building the B10 compact SUV at Stellantis’s Zaragoza plant.

What it means for UK buyers

The ownership mix matters mainly for after-sales. Leapmotor cars in the UK are sold and serviced through a Stellantis-controlled business and a network that already looks after Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroën owners, which is a different set-up from Chinese brands that run their own importers.

Spanish production does not change where UK cars come from yet. Auto Express reported in September that, because the UK does not charge extra tariffs on Chinese-built cars, UK customers will keep getting China-built Leapmotors for now, though the brand’s UK boss said European-built cars could reach the UK later.

Nothing announced so far changes warranties or servicing in the UK. The open question is the Madrid plant: if Leapmotor International ends up owning it, Leapmotor becomes a European manufacturer as well as an importer, but that deal is not yet signed.