European automaker Stellantis and China’s Dongfeng Motor have signed a non-binding MOU to establish a Europe-based joint venture for Voyah’s sales and local manufacturing, using Stellantis’ underutilized Rennes plant in France. Stellantis and Dongfeng sign MOU for European joint venture on May 20, 2026. Source: Stellantis
The joint-venture structure is based on CnEVPost coverage of the Stellantis-Dongfeng plan, with plant-capacity context from European business reporting.
The Deal Structure
On May 20, 2026, Stellantis NV and Dongfeng Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding to create a new joint venture headquartered in Europe. Stellantis will hold 51% of the venture, with Dongfeng owning the remaining 49% – an ownership structure identical to Leapmotor International, which Stellantis established with Leapmotor in May 2024. The JV will handle sales, distribution, manufacturing, purchasing, and engineering for Dongfeng’s premium Voyah brand (HKEX: 7489) in select European markets. Manufacturing is planned at Stellantis’ Rennes plant in France, which currently operates well below capacity, producing only the Citroën C5 Aircross on a single assembly line. Local production under the “Made in Europe” framework would allow Voyah to avoid the EU’s 20.7% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Dongfeng’s Global Ambitions
The deal is a critical piece of Dongfeng’s broader globalization strategy. At the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026, Dongfeng announced a target of 4 million vehicles in global sales by 2030, with overseas markets accounting for more than 40% of that volume. Currently, Dongfeng and Voyah combined sold only 3,210 vehicles across all of Europe in 2025, according to Dataforce figures cited by
Copying the Leapmotor Playbook
The Voyah JV deliberately mirrors the Leapmotor International model, which has become a template for Chinese brands seeking European market access. Leapmotor International, also 51/49 owned by Stellantis, began European sales in September 2024 and has since expanded to multiple markets. The strategy offers Chinese OEMs three critical advantages: Stellantis’ established European dealer network, tariff avoidance through local production, and the credibility of a European manufacturing address. For Stellantis, which posted a record EUR 22.3 billion net loss in 2025 but returned to profitability in Q1 2026 with EUR 3.77 billion net income, these partnerships help fill factory capacity while building an EV portfolio at lower cost than in-house development. The Voyah JV has not yet been named, and both parties emphasized the MOU is non-binding.
