BYD and Stellantis Clash Over Ownership of Germany's Chinese EV Dominance | Carscoops

      BYD maintains its lead in Germany, but Stellantis reports that Leapmotor T03 was the top-selling Chinese EV in the country for August.

      Stellantis clarifies that the remarks made by CEO Antonio Filosa pertain specifically to Leapmotor's sales performance in Germany for August, not the entire year. He highlighted that the Leapmotor T03 was the highest-selling Chinese electric vehicle that month, with Leapmotor being the top-selling Chinese battery-electric brand in Germany for August.

      A Stellantis spokesperson confirmed, "Antonio Filosa’s statement regarding Leapmotor’s BEV sales in Germany for August 2025 is accurate and corroborated by the national industry's database (KBA)." The spokesperson elaborated, "In August 2025, Leapmotor was the leading Chinese BEV brand and the T03 was the most sold Chinese BEV." They added, "Any other claims regarding competition cannot be directly associated with what was mentioned by our CEO yesterday."

      Original article follows.

      A developing rivalry seems to have emerged publicly. Chinese automaker BYD has responded to comments attributed to Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa regarding Leapmotor, made on Thursday, though the initial source of his statements remains unclear. We have sought clarifications from both parties.

      An Issue of Interpretation

      BYD alleges that Filosa stated, “in Germany Leapmotor sold more than BYD.” Although Stellantis does not fully own Leapmotor, it holds a minority stake and oversees exports outside China through Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis has a 51 percent share.

      BYD challenges this claim, using its own sales data to demonstrate a clear lead. BYD noted how its sales figures compare with those of Stellantis brands.

      BYD reported selling 8,610 vehicles in Germany from January to August 2025, significantly outpacing Leapmotor’s 3,536 sales during the same timeframe. This breaks down to 5,852 BEVs and 2,757 PHEVs for BYD, contrasted with Leapmotor’s 3,088 BEVs and 448 PHEVs.

      We examined the official registration numbers from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), which reveal a similar trend. From January to August 2025, BYD recorded 8,563 new registrations compared to Leapmotor's 3,531. In August alone, BYD still led with 1,114 units versus Leapmotor’s 826.

      There might have been a miscommunication, or Filosa may have misspoken regarding Leapmotor's figures. He could have also been referencing more specific metrics not yet released. While complete August sales data is available, detailed breakdowns of BEVs versus PHEVs have not yet been published. Greater clarity should emerge once both companies address requests for explanations.

      BYD Compares Itself to Alfa Romeo and Jeep

      Even with sales data from January to August alone sufficient to contest the CEO’s alleged comments, BYD took it a step further by comparing its performance against Stellantis-owned Alfa Romeo and Jeep.

      The Chinese automaker proudly noted its sales surpassed Alfa Romeo in Germany so far in 2025, an interesting comparison given the distinct market segments each brand targets. Reports indicate that Alfa Romeo sold 5,226 units, 5,222 according to KBA, which included only 140 BEVs (Junior Elettrica) and 34 PHEVs (Tonale PHEV).

      Similarly, BYD stated it sold more EVs and PHEVs than Jeep, with 350 BEVs and 569 PHEVs, and it asserts it is closing in on total sales, trailing Jeep by only 278 units. KBA data shows Jeep sold 8,884 units in Germany from January to August 2025, which is 321 more than BYD, a slight difference likely due to various data interpretations.

      A More Extensive Product Range

      A quick review of their local websites shows that BYD has a far broader range of products available in Germany compared to Leapmotor. Currently, BYD offers the Dolphin Surf, Dolphin, Atto 2, Atto 3, Sealion 7, Seal, Seal U, and Tang EVs, in addition to the Seal U DM-i and Seal 6 DM-i PHEVs in the German market.

      Conversely, Leapmotor’s offerings are limited to the T03 urban EV, the B10 electric crossover, and the C10 SUV in electric and range-extender models, with plans to soon introduce the new B05 electric hatchback debuted in Munich.

      It will be intriguing to see if the promotional rivalry between these two Chinese brands continues with more public statements in the future, along with how they will perform in export markets. However, on a global scale, the competition heavily favors BYD; in the first half of 2025, BYD sold 2,145,954 vehicles, nearly ten times Leapmotor’s 221,664.