Stellantis Leapmotor EV Plan: 5 Things to Know for 2028

Stellantis has started an electric-car platform program with Leapmotor, formally kicking off the effort in Turin with a plan to build at least two models at its Pomigliano plant in 2028. The Stellantis Leapmotor program is aimed squarely at the affordable end of the electric-car market, with the first city cars expected to carry a price point near €15,000, according to reporting verified via Automotive News and TimesLIVE/Reuters. The move marks a concrete next step in the Stellantis Leapmotor partnership's push to put low-cost electric mobility into European production.

Stellantis Leapmotor Program Kicks Off in Turin

The launch of the Stellantis Leapmotor EV platform program in Turin puts the partnership's engineering work on a defined path toward production. Turin, the historic home of the Italian auto industry, serves as the starting point for the program's development phase ahead of the planned 2028 production window. A platform program in industry terms means the shared engineering base — batteries, motors, electronics and vehicle architecture — that will underpin the coming models. By kicking off the program now, the Stellantis Leapmotor effort gives itself roughly two years of development and industrialization before the first cars are due to roll off the line.

Leapmotor electric cars are designed to compete on price in the budget segment, and the platform approach is meant to keep costs down by spreading development spending across multiple models. The Stellantis Leapmotor plan calls for at least two models to emerge from the Pomigliano site, which points to a small family of city cars rather than a single vehicle. For buyers, that could mean a choice of body styles or specifications built on the same affordable EV platform.

Stellantis Leapmotor Eyes Pomigliano for 2028 City Cars

The Pomigliano plant is the designated production site for the program's first models, with output targeted for 2028. Assigning the program to an existing Italian factory signals that the Stellantis Leapmotor partners intend to build the cars close to their intended market rather than importing them. Pomigliano, in southern Italy, has long been part of the Stellantis manufacturing footprint, and the addition of Leapmotor electric cars would bring battery-electric production to the site.

City cars are the natural starting point for an affordable EV platform, since smaller vehicles need smaller batteries — the most expensive single component in an electric car. The near-€15,000 price point cited in the reporting would place the Stellantis Leapmotor models among the cheapest electric cars on sale in Europe, undercutting most current offerings. Hitting that price will depend on disciplined cost engineering through the factory's production ramp-up and the scale economies of the shared platform.

What the Stellantis Leapmotor €15,000 Price Target Means

A €15,000 electric city car would redraw the entry point of the European EV market, where affordable models have been slow to arrive. The Stellantis Leapmotor pricing ambition suggests the partners believe European buyers are waiting for electric cars that cost no more than a conventional small car. If the Italian factory can deliver at that price from 2028, the program could pull forward demand from drivers who have so far stayed with gasoline and diesel.

The 2028 timeline also matters. Between now and then, the Stellantis Leapmotor program must move from the Turin kickoff through engineering, supplier contracts, factory tooling and homologation. The partners have set a clear sequence: platform program first, then at least two production models from Pomigliano, then the market test of the €15,000 promise. For now, the Turin start confirms the plan is moving from announcement to execution.

More detail on the models, specifications and exact pricing will emerge as the 2028 production date approaches. What is confirmed today is the structure: a Turin-launched platform program, a Pomigliano production home, at least two city cars, and a near-€15,000 target that sets the bar for affordable electric mobility in Europe.