PARIS — The factory in Rennes has survived crises before. Stellantis has repeatedly considered closing the La Janais plant, most recently in the years after the merger that created the company, and its workers have fought every plan to shut the gates. Now the plant is getting a new role, one that would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago: assembling cars for a Chinese automaker.
Stellantis has agreed to assemble at least one model for Dongfeng Motor, its longtime Chinese partner, at the Rennes plant, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement would give the French factory work at a time when European car plants are struggling with weak demand, and it would give Dongfeng a way to sell its own cars in Europe without paying tariffs on imports from China.
Dongfeng’s logic is easy to follow. The company has been Stellantis’ partner in China for years, part of a $1.2 billion venture that builds Peugeot and Jeep cars for the Chinese market. Now it wants to build its own brand inside the European Union. Producing in France would let Dongfeng’s cars cross EU borders as European-made goods, avoiding the duties that Brussels has imposed on Chinese-built electric vehicles.
Dongfeng executives visited the Rennes plant in January and again in April, according to the people familiar with the matter, suggesting the discussions have moved from concept to detail. A Stellantis spokesman declined to comment, and Dongfeng did not respond to a request for comment.
The deal, if completed, would be part of a broader reshuffling of the global auto industry. Chinese carmakers have spent the past two years racing to build factories inside Europe, from BYD’s plant in Hungary to a wave of assembly deals with European manufacturers. The motivation is the same everywhere: tariffs. The EU has imposed duties of up to 45 percent on Chinese-built EVs, and building in Europe is the cleanest way around them.
For Stellantis, the arrangement has a different appeal. The company, formed in 2021 from the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler, has been under pressure to use its factories more efficiently. European car sales have been soft, and Stellantis has idled plants across the continent while its management works through a turnaround that has included the departure of its chief executive, Carlos Tavares, in December 2024.
Contract manufacturing offers a way to fill those idle lines. Stellantis already does this for other automakers in some markets, and building Dongfeng cars in Rennes would keep workers employed without Stellantis having to fund the development of the models itself. For the union representatives at Rennes, who have spent years defending the plant, the deal is likely to be welcomed — even if the cars rolling off the line carry a Chinese badge.
The economics of the arrangement are still being worked out, according to people familiar with the talks. It is not clear which Dongfeng model would be built in Rennes, how many cars the plant would produce, or when production would begin. The agreement covers at least one model, the people said, leaving room for more.
Rennes is a sensible choice for other reasons. The plant sits on France’s Atlantic coast, with rail and port connections that suit shipping parts and finished cars. It has a skilled workforce with decades of experience in large-scale assembly, and it has survived because its workers have repeatedly accepted flexibility agreements to keep it open. Dongfeng would inherit that discipline along with the factory.
There are risks on both sides. For Dongfeng, producing in France means higher labor costs than in China, and European regulations on emissions, data, and cybersecurity add layers of complexity. For Stellantis, the deal ties factory capacity to a partner whose brand is largely unknown to European buyers, and success will depend on whether European consumers accept a Dongfeng car assembled in their own backyard.
Analysts said the deal is a sign of how far the industry has shifted. A decade ago, the flow of capital ran the other way: European and American carmakers built factories in China to sell to Chinese customers. Now Chinese companies are building in Europe, bringing their own brands, and European factories are the ones competing for the work.
“The center of gravity has moved,” one industry analyst said. “Chinese manufacturers have the products and the cost base. European plants have the capacity and the proximity to customers. The question is who captures the value.”
For the workers of Rennes, the deal is above all a question of jobs. The plant has seen its workforce shrink as production shifted to other sites, and each new assignment has been greeted with caution. The Dongfeng agreement, people familiar with the matter said, is expected to secure the plant’s future for years — provided the cars sell.
The deal also carries a diplomatic dimension. France has pushed for European industrial policy that protects local manufacturing while keeping the door open to foreign investment, and a Chinese brand assembling cars in Rennes sits squarely in that debate. The French government, which holds a stake in Stellantis through its ownership of shares, has been briefed on the plans, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nothing has been signed, the people said, and the agreement could still fall apart. But the visits have happened, the factory is ready, and both companies have reasons to make it work. For a plant that was once on the verge of closure, the future may look surprisingly busy.
