China's Leapmotor signs carbon credits deal with Stellantis for Europe, UK markets

March 31 (Reuters) - Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology 9863.HK has entered into an agreement for the transfer of carbon credits it generates in Europe and the UK over the rest of 2026 to the subsidiaries of Stellantis STLAM.MI.

The agreement covers credits generated by the sale and registration of all battery electric vehicles and range-extended electric models under the Leapmotor brand from March 31 to December 31, the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

The deal will help expand Leapmotor's revenue sources and help fulfill its corporate social responsibilities, it added.

Stellantis has a joint venture with Leapmotor to sell the Chinese EV maker's cars in Europe.

Stellantis is also among carmakers including Toyota 7203.T that have not signed up to the current year's carbon-credit "pool" led by Tesla TSLA.O, which is designed to help automobile companies meet the European Union's carbon emissions targets, an EU filing showed earlier this month.

Brussels had initially planned hefty fines for automakers that failed to meet strict, fleet-wide emission cuts by the end of 2025. But early last year, the European Commission eased the rules, allowing compliance to be assessed on average emissions over the 2025-2027 period instead.