Volkswagen wants to copy Stellantis: it is looking for a Chinese partner to bring its models to Europe

The automotive market has changed a great deal in recent years. While not long ago European manufacturers were seeking partners in China to bring their models to the Asian country, it now seems that Chinese partners are being sought to do the opposite: bring their models to Europe. The reason is clear: the European Union applies tariffs to vehicles arriving from outside the European area in order to protect brands from EU member countries.

But if those same vehicles are manufactured on European territory, no tariffs apply and costs are lower, since they are built in Europe and do not need to be imported. Stellantis concluded a collaboration with Leapmotor to bring to Europe the manufacturing of several of its models, which are already built in several European countries.

Now, it is Volkswagen that is seeking a collaboration with a Chinese company to do precisely that: bring to Europe the production of vehicles designed in China in order to avoid tariffs and do business with them. The poor results of Volkswagen have made this possibility gain strength and could turn into reality.

Nothing is yet clear about this possible collaboration between Volkswagen and a Chinese automotive company, but it is expected that something will gradually take shape and that conversations will begin to make it a reality. One of the weapons the German company wants to wield is the possibility of manufacturing electric cars with a range extender.

This possibility has already been explored by Leapmotor and Stellantis, with the launch of the Leapmotor C10 REEV, which uses this system and could open the door to new models that maintain the sustainability experience and an interesting range. So perhaps we will soon see Volkswagen join a Chinese brand that can establish a bridge of collaboration between the two to manufacture its cars in one of the German plants.