Leapmotor jumps 6pc as European orders kick off

China's Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (9863) saw its shares climb about 6.6 percent in Hong Kong yesterday as it is set to begin taking orders in Europe for a city car and an SUV.

Leapmotor is collaborating with its Netherlands-based partner Stellantis to expand its budget electric vehicle offering in the region. Stellantis holds a 51 percent stake in their Leapmotor International joint venture and has exclusive rights to build, export and sell Leapmotor products outside China in the first such arrangement for a legacy Western automaker.

The T03 compact car will be available by the end of September with prices starting at EUR18,900 (HK$164,621) while the C10 SUV will be in dealerships in October starting at EUR36,400, the JV said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Nio (9866) founder William Li Bin hit out at the European Union and the United States, saying their moves to level tariffs on electric cars are unreasonable and urged them to cooperate with, rather than fight, China.

In Canada, a US proposal to ban Chinese-made software in electric vehicles is "absolutely" being considered among measures to counter what the nation calls overcapacity and a security threat from China, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday.

Agencies and staff reporter