Leapmotor: “We will be European”

Leapmotor is repositioning itself as a European brand, with Spanish-built models and Italian-tuned dynamics forming a key part of its global strategy, even as it continues to grow rapidly in China and attempts to gain traction in markets like Australia.

The brand's commercial head for the Europe region, Danilo Annese, says the question of identity is already being answered on the factory floor, with two Spanish production plants soon to be building cars that he insists are European in every meaningful sense.

“The car will be European, will not be Chinese, because the production is in Spain. It's not an assembly. It's a European car, like any other brand you can consider European,” he said.

“We will be European.”

Leapmotor is quietly becoming one of the more remarkable automotive stories of 2026 – a Chinese startup that is regularly outselling rivals like Li Auto and Zeekr in China, posting 81 per cent sales growth last month with 81,000 deliveries in May alone. It’s also performing strongly in Europe.

Like BYD, Leapmotor produces its own powertrains and batteries in-house, allowing it to undercut competitors on price while protecting margins.

But why are Australian sales still relatively low? It could be a lack of brand awareness, combined with a small portfolio, and it has less than 20 dealerships, so growing its network would help as well.

Whatever the reason, expect to see the brand pushing its European DNA to attract more customers. And those European credentials run deeper than Spanish assembly lines.

Leapmotor’s export vehicles – including its latest model, the B05 hatchback – have had their suspension tuned at the Balocco proving ground in Italy; the same facility used by Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

Annese confirmed Italian suspension engineers worked directly alongside Leapmotor's R&D team, making trips to China and receiving pre-production cars to study and rework.

Credibility is supposedly the key to its growing Euro success – built through established dealer networks, familiar importer infrastructure and parts availability sitting above 92 to 94 per cent depending on vehicle and period.

“Dealers are known, importers are known. Spare parts warehouses are exactly the same we use for all the other legacy brands,” he said.

“This is what gives reassurance to the customer – being not another Chinese brand, but being a serious contender.”

Leapmotor’s German, UK and Italian markets are all tracking positively, with strong sales across multiple vehicle types.

Which raises the question for Australia: could the incoming B05 – and potentially its hardcore Ultra halo – be the standout model the brand so badly needs Down Under to generate some excitement and put the brand on the map?

A rear-drive, Italian-tuned, 160kW warm hatch priced from under $36,000 might just be the most compelling argument Leapmotor has made thus far. Its SUVs have been hit and miss. 

The C10 has received mixed reviews but the B10 SUV is a much better product and made it into carsales New Car Buyers Guide top picks in the City Car category for 2026.

The brand is also considering other vehicles for Australia to flesh out the portfolio, such as the D19 , which would help build sales volume and visibility, along with the B03X.

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