<div id="readability-page-1">Peugeot and Jeep, owned by French-Italian automotive group Stellantis, have committed to fresh investments to build electric cars with its partner Dongfeng Motor, as more international marques join the fight against Chinese rivals in the world’s largest car market. Stellantis announced on Friday that four electric vehicles (EVs) under the two storied auto brands would roll off the production lines in 2027 as the European carmaker leverages Chinese technologies to assemble best-class cars for the future of mobility. “Stellantis and Dongfeng are ready to further leverage their strengths and introduce all-new vehicles with cutting-edge EV technologies from brands that customers worldwide trust and love,” Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said in a statement. “We look forward to this project and to collaborate even more in the future.” The two companies would budget a combined 8 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion) for mass producing the new models, of which Stellantis would contribute about US$130 million, according to the statement. Some of the vehicles assembled at the ventures between Stellantis and Dongfeng would also be exported to overseas markets, it added. Peugeot and Jeep, long eclipsed by local rivals in a market where the EV adoption rate has exceeded 60 per cent, are following in the footsteps of Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq in trying to regain lost ground in mainland China.  No 2025 delivery numbers for Peugeot were available, but data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed only 42,561 French-branded vehicles were delivered to mainland customers in 2025, down 30.9 per cent on year, representing a scant 0.2 per cent of the country’s total. Jeep exited the Chinese market in 2022 after its venture with Guangzhou-based GAC Group went bankrupt. International carmakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota dominated China’s vehicle market two decades ago, commanding more than a 90 per cent share. However, they have steadily lost ground to domestic rivals amid their slower transition to electrification. Last year, international carmakers held a combined 34.7 per cent share of the mainland’s car market, CPCA data showed. Since 2018 when Chinese-developed EVs saw brisk sales growth, about 10 foreign brands known for their petrol vehicles, including Suzuki, Acura, Mitsubishi, Renault and Skoda, have withdrawn from the Chinese market. Stephen Dyer, Greater China co-leader and head of Asia automotive practice at AlixPartners, noted last year that car brands selling fewer than 1,000 units a month would likely be edged out. “More international carmakers, without proper EV models for sale in China, will face exits in the near future,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “But the market is also seeing encouraging signs that some foreign brands are pioneering a comeback effort to design new models for the Chinese consumers.” In April, Hyundai showed its first production model under the new brand, the Ioniq V electric sedan, at the Auto China show in Beijing, hoping to recover lost share on the mainland. Last year, its annual deliveries amounted to 154,000 units, nearly 80 per cent fewer than 2018. The Korean carmaker, the world’s third largest in terms of deliveries, has raised expectations of a comeback by foreign brands in the mammoth China market, where EV builders and supply-chain vendors enjoy design and production advantages over their global rivals.  Competition in China was unlikely to remain “one-way traffic”, as international marques had learned from their mainland counterparts – particularly in areas such as pure-electric and plug-in hybrid technologies that appeal to local consumers – according to Denis Depoux, global managing director at consultancy Roland Berger. German automotive giant Volkswagen said early last month that it would launch three new EV models in China over the next two weeks, leveraging technologies from domestic partners. Last year, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and BMW introduced new EV models featuring early-stage self-driving systems and advanced digital cockpits, as they seek to regain lost ground.</div>

600006

00489

515700

515030

516380

<p>Peugeot and Jeep, part of Stellantis, are investing in electric vehicles (EVs) with Dongfeng Motor to compete against Chinese rivals in the EV market. Four new models are set to launch by 2027, with a budget of 8 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion). This move comes as international carmakers face challenges in China, where EV adoption exceeds 60%. Stellantis aims to leverage local technology to regain market share, following a trend of foreign brands re-entering the competitive landscape.</p>

Peugeot, Jeep take on Chinese rivals with new models using local EV tech