VW's Jetta brand to use Leapmotor's EV platform in China

Jetta is a Chinese joint venture between Volkswagen Group and FAW Group. It was established back in 2019 and has since launched several ICE models that were designed and developed by VW in Germany. Jetta is now looking enter the quickly growing Chinese EV market though, and will team up with the Chinese-based Leapmotor to use its platform and technologies.

An internal document within FAW states that once the deal is finalized, the Jetta brand will focus on budget EVs and will move its marketing company to Hangzhou. It makes sense since the current Jetta models are in the same price bracket as Leapmotor's.

Many analysts believe that German automakers have a big advantage in the hardware department but lack software expertise and that's where Chinese companies come into play. If German automotive companies want to stay afloat, they would have to partner up with Chinese companies, such as Leapmotor.

Leapmotor's technological expertise in smart cars, batteries, motors, electronic control systems, autonomous driving, etc. is tipped to become the company's second-biggest source of revenue in the coming years. The latest deal between Jetta and Leapmotor certainly lends credibility to those predictions.

Via