Stellantis dealers could take on Voyah EV sales and aftersales in Europe under a new proposed joint venture with Dongfeng.
The proposed venture would be led by Stellantis with a 51% stake, while Dongfeng would hold 49%.
The companies said the new entity would oversee shared sales and distribution, manufacturing, purchasing and engineering activities for Dongfeng-branded EVs in Europe.
The partners said the move would allow Voyah to use Stellantis’ established dealer network and aftersales infrastructure as it expands into Europe.
The companies also said they intend to explore production of Dongfeng NEVs at Stellantis’ Rennes plant in France to meet European “Made-in-Europe” requirements and local manufacturing regulations.
The move follows on from Stellantis’ announcement that it will build small EVs for multiple partners in the Europe, while the co-operation with Dongfeng will also work in a similar way to its deal with fellow Chinese brand Leapmotor.
A new dimension of co-operation between Stellantis and Dongfeng
Antonio Filosa, chief executive of Stellantis, said: “Our plans take our recently strengthened cooperation with Dongfeng to an all-new dimension of an international partnership to the benefit of customers around the world.
“With this new chapter in our collaboration, we will give our customers an even greater choice of competitive products and pricing, leveraging the best of Stellantis’ global footprint alongside Dongfeng’s access to China’s advanced new energy vehicles ecosystem.”
Earlier this month, Stellantis and Dongfeng confirmed their existing Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile (DPCA) joint venture will build new Peugeot and Jeep-branded EVs at its Wuhan plant from 2027 for both Chinese and export markets.
Since launch, the DPCA partnership has produced more than 6.5 million Peugeot and Citroën vehicles for domestic and overseas markets.
The proposed European venture remains subject to final agreements, approvals and customary conditions.
Voyah model line-up
8
Voyah is Dongfeng’s premium EV brand and was founded in 2019.
The current Voyah model line-up includes the Voyah Free crossover SUV, the Courage premium SUV, the Dream flagship MPV and the Passion performance saloon. It’s unclear at this stage which models will make it to the UK.
However, Voyah has already launched in other European markets with Norway first in June 2022, followed by Belarus, Spain, Portugal and Italy. It’s likely this new joint-venture will pave the way for Voyah’s entry into the UK and Germany.
Ensure you always receive AM insights. Make us a preferred source of news on Google