(Yicai) Nov. 1 -- Stellantis, the European owner of auto brands Maserati and Jeep, announced a major shake up of its China business team, moving China Chief Operating Officer Gregoire Olivier to supervise the carmaker’s partnership with Leapmotor Technology, the Chinese electric vehicle startup it has bet on.

Olivier will become the head of the newly established Stellantis-Leapmotor Technology Strategic Alliance Office and he is also named executive vice president of Stellantis, the Amsterdam-based firm announced today.

Olivier’s new role is to ensure that the strategic tie-up with Hangzhou-based Leapmotor advances well, including forming a joint venture sales company as well as managing and coordinating the effective use of Stellantis’ global distribution network to promote Leapmotor projects. 

Olivier will also be named director at Leapmotor, along with his replacement as China COO, Douglas Ostermann. Douglas was Stellantis’ China chief financial officer and the parent firm’s senior vice president for strategic planning in the Chinese market.

The new arrangements come a week after Stellantis said it would spend EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) to buy around 20 percent of China's sixth-biggest EV maker to take advantage of the startup's competitiveness in production technologies and marketing capabilities and to help the Chinese firm export its product overseas. The Stellantis gained two seats on Leapmotor’s board through the deal.

The deal laid out a blueprint to form a JV called Leapmotor International to sell Leapmotor-branded cars abroad. The share split is 51:49 in favor of Stellantis.

Stellantis said earlier that the partnership aims to further boost Leapmotor’s sales in China, the world’s biggest market for new energy vehicles, while leveraging the European firm's global commercial presence to significantly accelerate Leapmotor’s sales in other regions, starting with Europe.

Leapmotor International will be registered in Europe and it will own the exclusive rights to sell Leapmotor products and market the brand overseas, Wu Qiang, co-president of Leapmotor, said earlier in an interview with Yicai. Deliveries abroad should begin in mid-2024, he added.

Leapmotor will release two or three models abroad next year, raising the total number to 10 or 11 by 2025 or 2026, but it has not yet decided on which markets, Wu said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine