Leapmotor: Jeep-backed Chinese EV brand plots Australian onslaught
Chinese auto brand Leapmotor plans to significantly expand its Australian model lineup over the next few years, after it launches its debut model later this year.
The mid-sized C10 electric SUV will launch in November, but it won’t be the brand’s only model locally for long.
Moreover, Leapmotor Australia won’t limit itself to just SUVs and traditional electric vehicles (EVs).
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Camera IconB10 Credit: CarExpert
“We plan to cover 65 per cent of the Australian segments in the next three years,” Leapmotor Australia CEO Andy Hoang told CarExpert.
“[We plan to] have up to six models in the next three years.”
That includes the previously confirmed B10 compact electric SUV, which will slot in under the C10 when it arrives in 2025.
Also due in 2025 will be the brand’s first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), which features a petrol engine that acts as a generator instead of powering the wheels directly, giving the vehicle greater driving range.
Camera IconC16 Credit: CarExpert
The first Leapmotor EREV to arrive in Australia is expected to be the C10.
“When we start with all the metro areas… I think when that car gets here it allows us to really satisfy the needs of customers who need to travel longer distances so, I think that’ll give us that next growth phase,” said Mr Hoang.
Beyond the B10 and C10, Leapmotor has a range of models on sale in China.
While it has thus far confirmed only SUVs for Australia, it says it will offer passenger cars as well.
Camera IconC11 Credit: CarExpert
“We’re not an SUV brand. We’re a brand that’s about bringing technology to many, many people,” said Mr Hoang.
“If you’ve seen Leapmotor, the products we’ve launched in China, we’ve got a small car, we’ve got a sedan, we’ve got bigger cars, we’ve got SUVs.
“So the portfolio for us is going to be ‘how do we make sure that we’ve got cars that can fit different needs in Australia, not just SUVs?’.”
Leapmotor this year revealed a larger SUV called the C16, which has yet to be confirmed for Australia.
Camera IconC01 Credit: CarExpert
This slots in atop the Leapmotor range, which also includes the C11 mid-sized SUV launched in China in 2021 and the C01 large sedan launched in 2023. Both are offered as electric vehicles or extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs).
There’s also the electric T03 micro-car, which is being rolled out in Europe, where it’s being built at Stellantis’ Tychy, Poland plant.
The company hasn’t confirmed which models it’ll offer here beyond the B10 and C10, but Mr Hoang’s remarks suggest older vehicles like the T03 won’t make the trip.
“We’re getting new products designed for international markets, it’s not cars that you go, ‘Why are you bringing this minivan over? Vans don’t sell in Australia’,” said Mr Hoang.
Camera IconT03 Credit: CarExpert
“It’s not product that’s left over from China or old models, legacy models that they’re trying to bring into Australia. It’s actually new models created for the international market.
“We want the newest. I think the philosophy behind Leapmotor for us is to make sure we bring that new technology, at mass.”
The local arm will also benefit from the brand’s rapid expansion globally, following the establishment earlier this year of a joint venture between Leapmotor and Stellantis called Leapmotor Australia.
“The great thing for us is that Leapmotor is supplying to a global audience, so we’re ramping up to actually go from one plant to three plants,” said Mr Hoang.
“Which means that Australia in the big scheme of things… our volume is so small that for us, to double our volume, triple our volume will be easy.”
Camera IconC10 Credit: CarExpert
While Leapmotor boasts it’ll have strong supply, it isn’t disclosing its sales targets. It says, however, that it will grow steadily and sustainably.
“We’re not aiming to be market leader. We’re not aiming to be second or third in the first year. We understand it takes time to build a brand,” said Mr Hoang.
Leapmotor says that while it expects its C10 to be popular with rideshare drivers, its core market will be young parents aged 35 to 45. It also expects buyers to come not necessarily out of EVs, but out of combustion-powered mid-sized SUVs.
Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert
“The way that we see this car is that people won’t look at it like, ‘Oh it’s an EV, and then I’ll just look at all the other EVs’,” said Mr Hoang.
“It’ll be ‘what kind of car do I need to fit my lifestyle?’ and then they’ll go, ‘Oh, actually there’s an EV that’ll fit this too.’ It’s the reverse.”
Leapmotor doesn’t believe its unknown name in Australia will hold it back.
“The first question [customers may ask] is ‘Who is Leapmotor? Why should I buy into this story?’,” said Mr Hoang.
“That’s going to work against us. On the flipside, I think [the fact] that people don’t know us also allows us to have an opportunity that they have an open mind to it, that there’s no preconceived legacy of ‘Oh it’s this, it’s that’.”
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