https://insideevs.com/reviews/749797/leapmotor-t03-city-ev-review/
We used to laugh at how bad Chinese cars were 10 or 15 years ago. They were a constant topic of ridicule on Western auto sites and shows. We watched those crash tests that showed cars’ structures collapsing like an accordion, and, at the time, we never thought Chinese cars would be any good. Boy, how things have changed.
Now, Western automakers are looking to Chinese manufacturers for inspiration and help. There’s no better example of this than the Leapmotor T03, a tiny Chinese city car aimed at the Dacia Spring. While Leapmotor has only existed since 2015, it designed the T03 fully in house, and produces the battery pack itself. The result is a cheap, cheerful, impressive EV. It’s so good, in fact, that one of the largest Western automakers has decided to buy in.
Little Leapmotor made Stellantis—a major European-based car conglomerate with over a dozen automotive brands under its belt—admit defeat. Like many Western automakers, Stellantis recognizes that it can’t compete with Chinese brands on cost. Instead of trying to beat them, Stellantis entered a joint venture with Leapmotor to allow it to produce Chinese cars in Europe, allowing it to circumvent hefty import duties.