According to reports from Autos Segredos, Stellantis will produce Leapmotor hybrid models in Brazil, at the Porto Real (RJ) plant. The first SUVs equipped with the REEV hybrid system will be available on the Brazilian market, although the start of local assembly has not yet been officially set and will not occur before 2027.
Leapmotor will produce its Flex Hybrid SUVs directly in Brazil
Stellantis had previously announced that this production unit would be multi-brand, without explicitly specifying which brands would be involved. However, as already mentioned, the Jeep Avenger will be one of the models produced there starting in 2026. Additionally, the Chinese brand will be the third to benefit from production at this facility. Auto Esporte magazine had previously anticipated Stellantis‘ intention to localize Leapmotor model production.
Initially, production should begin in Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) mode, which is when a car arrives in the destination country partially disassembled, with some parts pre-assembled at the origin factory, such as chassis, engine, and body, while others are completed on the local assembly line. Currently in Brazil, cars assembled under the SKD system pay 18% taxes.
Leapmotor will then move to Completely Knocked Down (CKD) production, under which the car arrives in the country completely disassembled, with each component separate. Complete assembly is carried out at the local plant and includes additional production phases, including body welding, painting, and installation of engine and electronics. In this process, the Brazilian government applies a 16% tax.
Local production will enter a third phase, which will begin only at a later time, probably with models based on the LEAP 3.0 platform, developed internally by Leapmotor. This advanced architecture integrates components such as electric motors, vehicle management CPUs, and LED lighting systems, thus offering more precise control over build quality and overall performance of models, including the C10 and C16.
