Dongfeng Motor to Produce Vehicles at Stellantis' Rennes Plant in France

China's Dongfeng Motor Group plans to utilize Stellantis’ Rennes plant in western France for vehicle production. If finalized, this collaboration would mark the first time a Chinese automaker achieves large-scale vehicle manufacturing in France. According to disclosures on May 15, both parties have reached an agreement under which the Rennes facility will allocate part of its capacity to Dongfeng, with an initial Dongfeng-branded model slated for production there. An official announcement is expected soon. Currently, the Rennes plant produces only the Citroën C5 Aircross compact SUV (including its all-electric variant), with an annual capacity of approximately 153,000 units. However, its average annual output over the past three years has been around 70,000 vehicles, leaving roughly 40,000 units of idle capacity. Originally established in 1961, the plant once reached peak annual production exceeding 300,000 vehicles. It now employs about 1,300 people—down by at least 1,000 since 2012. The facility has undergone multiple technological upgrades in recent years: it was adapted to the EMP platform in 2016 and received a further €160 million investment in 2023 to support production on the STLA Medium platform. Dongfeng and Stellantis have jointly operated Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile (commonly known as Shenlong Automobile) in China since 1992, producing Peugeot and Citroën models. In recent years, Shenlong’s sales have plummeted, falling below 15,000 units in 2025. To revitalize their joint venture, the two companies recently announced a €1 billion investment (with Dongfeng contributing approximately €870 million and Stellantis €130 million) into the Wuhan Shenlong plant to launch four new Jeep and Peugeot models targeting both the Chinese and global markets. Stellantis is currently advancing a global capacity optimization strategy, planning to sell or share four overseas plants—one of which is the Rennes facility. The other three include the Madrid plant in Spain (already confirmed to be taken over by Leapmotor), plus two unnamed plants in Italy and Germany. Leapmotor will also begin vehicle production at Stellantis’ Zaragoza plant in Spain. Dongfeng has already established its Voyah and Dongfeng brands in the European market, achieving sales of 1,439 units in Europe during Q1 2025. Against the backdrop of the EU imposing combined tariffs of approximately 30.8% on Chinese electric vehicles (10% base tariff + 20.8% additional tariff), local production offers a way to circumvent import duties. Dongfeng previously stated its goal of reaching one million annual overseas sales by 2028, encompassing both vehicle exports and localized overseas production.