A hotline to China and over-the-air updates are being used to accelerate Leapmotor’s Australian sales campaign. The newbie EV brand is a relatively late arrival on the global scene, only delivering its first cars in 2019, but has ambitions beyond its juvenile status down under.

Leapmotor is using a focus on technology and trinkets, some as distracting as they are entertaining, to set it apart from other Chinese brands including BYD, GWM and MG. It only has three models in local showrooms but has just landed the new B05 hatchback (pictured below) and intends to grow its line-up in double-quick time, with the smaller B03 (pictured, bottom) next, before the end of the year.

9

Much more is over the horizon, but the head of Leapmotor Australia, Andy Hoang, refuses to go into detail, or provide any sales predictions. “We think there is a lot of opportunity for growth with our cars,” he told WhichCar by Wheels. “This year we only have two cars and next year we will have four cars – at a minimum.”

The target is six models in 2027 and that number could easily double within the following three years. 

Leapmotor has both smaller and larger cars at home in China, including the full-sized C16 SUV and luxury D19, which are on the radar for Australia. There is also the B05 Ultra, a compact hot hatchback. “For us, all those cars are things we are continually looking at,” said Hoang.

On the sales front, Leapmotor will struggle to top 1500 deliveries through 2026 but at least it is on a growth curve. Other brands covered by the Stellantis umbrella are in decline in Australia, even Jeep, and Fiat withdrew early this year. Peugeot meanwhile, recently dropped by its Australian distributor, Inchcape, will remain in Australia and has, according to a Stellantis Australia spokesperson, “a strong future”.

“Year-to-date we’ve done about 1200 units, and compared to last year we’ve doubled the number. For us, that’s reasonable growth,” said Hoang, who added that Leapmotor is actively recruiting for dealers, but the brand’s presence is still tiny when compared to BYD.

Even so, he said the company is being aggressive with improvements to its cars. It is using feedback from owners, and even the media, on a rapid-improvement plan with software fixes, updates and upgrades.

Gray SUV parked on a pedestrian street lined with shops and hanging green decorations
6

“So far as our OTAs (Over The Air updates) we’ve done three on the C10,” Hoang said. “It really depends on how critical the feedback is. If it is an ADR (Australian Design Rules) issue, and something we could do right away, it would take a couple of days or a week.

“On average, from a customer perspective, it might take a couple of months. The most recent thing we’ve done is a resume button for the active cruise control. One of the other things on the C10 was the customisation button, so you can save your preferences and then have one click on the steering wheel.”

Looking to Leapmotor’s place in the Stellantis group, and in Australia, Hoang predicts it will be one of the winners.

“The Chinese are moving fast. From a Stellantis point of view, we believe it will be one of the strengths going forward. Leapmotor is where the new products are,” he said.