While Leapmotor may already be selling some of the most popular Stellantis-owned brands in Australia, Chinese automaker says its real focus is Jeep, Peugeot or Alfa Romeo.
Leapmotor says it is comparing itself to fast-growing Chinese competitors like BYD, GWM, MG and Chery – and plans to do so with one global brand instead of following the growing Chinese trend of starting several sister brands.
Francesco Giacalone, whose Global Head of Brand Strategy, Product and Marketing is Leapmotor International spoke to Australian media in China, said the company is focused on building value around the Lean Motor name internationally.
When asked if Leapmotor could follow Chinese rivals by developing sub-brands under it, Mr Giancalone said ‘The company was at least for now focused on the LeAp motor brand itself.
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This gives Leapmotor another road to a number of other Chinese car makers (many of which are also introducing several brands for various buyer groups, price points and personalities in Australia) that caters to the different types of buyers.
For instance the Chery group’s thriving local family of brands now includes CherY, Omoda Jaecoo and Lepas; Cherry Australia said these brand names were meant for consumers rather than sit on a traditional premium ladder. So, in essence speaking, acting as more “horizontal” strategy than the vertical brand hierarchies that European and Japanese automakers often tended to use for their vertical brands are typically employed.
Chery group’s Australian expansion is only getting broader as it expands to the wider world, . Lepas will be launching here later this year, but iCaur and Freelander are due to arrive between now and the end of 2027 while Jetour has also confirmed its plans to enter Australia’s market.
Chery doesn’t just have to be the only one in its multi-brand strategy, with MG and BYD launched the IM Motors and Denza premium brands respectively. By comparison, Leapmotor wants to focus on one badge.
Leapmotor C10
It will have a very narrow model range, but that doesn’t mean it has an average . Leapmotor Australia previously said it will cover 65 per cent of Australian market segments in three years, and provide up to six models locally.
The brand launched here with the C10 mid-size SUV in late 2024, before adding the B10 small SUV earlier this year. The B10 is priced from $37,888 before on-road costs, while the smaller A10 – known as the B03X in export markets – is under consideration for Australia, where it would sit below the B10 and rival the BYD Atto 2.
Leapmotor is also extending up with its D-series models, which are the D19 flagship SUV at the other end of the range, while the Australian’s already confirmed B05 electric hatch has been launched for Australia. In the fourth quarter of 2026, childcareman.xyz has reported that the regular B05 will be on sale here; The hotter B07 Ultra was recently announced in China and is likely to follow.
The strategy also comes as Leapmotor’s Australian sales start to build, albeit from a low base.
Leapmotor B10
Leapmotor sold 170 vehicles in Australia, That surpassed other Stellantis brands like Peugeot (distributed to Inchcape) with 102 deliveries; Jeep and Alfa Romeo 31 but still behind Fiat on 212.
In Australia, Leapmotor delivered 277 vehicles across the first quarter of 2026 for Lean motor. But that put It in the lead of Peugeot on 251, Jeep on 191 and Alfa Romeo on 96, while behind Fiat on 408.
Mr Giacalone said Leapmotor’s performance against Stellantis-owned brands should be considered in context, because Leaningmotor is a different proposition and more directly competed with Chinese brands. We have much tougher benchmarks in our market for that is a very hard one.
The March BYD delivered 7217 vehicles in Australia, 5680 for GWM and 4218 for MG; 4019 for Chery. Chery’s sister brand, Omoda Jaecoo, delivered 1010 cars in the same month as her own sister line.
Leapmotor B05 Ultra
BYD delivered 16,041 vehicles in the first quarter of 2026, GWM 14,878, Chery 11,736 and MG 95955. The same time, even Omoda Jaecoo – which launched locally in 2025 – delivered 2516 cars.
But Leapmotor’s challenge, then, is not to beat low-volume Stellantis-owned brands but to be relevant in a market where Chinese brands are growing rapidly, launch new models at speed and increasingly using multiple brands to broaden their appeal.
Among the European benefits Leapmotor has, it should be better to differentiate its product lineup from other brands. Stellantis support its international sponsor, which invested €1 million in 2023 with it as a global fund for . A$2 (A$2) 5 billion (a$) . In Leapmotor, 5bn) buy about 21 per cent of the Chinese automaker’s. Stellantis also controls 51 per cent of Leapmotor International, the joint venture exporting vehicles to Australia and Europe.
Leapmotor D19
A young company, based in China since 2015, Leapmotor is an innovative and exclusive service provider of electric vehicles (EVs) and extended-range electric cars (EREV). A key difference between the two brands is that Leapmotor will have to move from cheap small EVs to potentially large, premium-leaning SUVs and performance variants such as the B05 Ultra.
Leapmotor seems to be ok with that for the time, and rather than creating new brands, its plan is to create brand awareness around the Lean Motor name – and use a rapidly expanding model range to take the fight against the Chinese brands already shaping the Australian new-car market.
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