Chinese car brand Jump motor plans to significantly expand its Australian model range in the coming years after launching its debut model later this year.
The C10 mid-size electric SUV will be launched in November, but won’t be the brand’s only local model for long.
Furthermore, Leapmotor Australia will not limit itself to just SUVs and traditional electric vehicles (EVs).
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“We plan to cover 65 percent of Australian segments over the next three years,” said Andy Hoang, CEO of Leapmotor Australia. AutoExpert.
“[We plan to] will have up to six models in the next three years.”
That includes the previously confirmed B10 compact electric SUV, which will slot under the C10 when it arrives in 2025.
Also due in 2025 is the brand’s first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), which features a gasoline engine that acts as a generator instead of driving the wheels directly, giving the vehicle a longer driving range.
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C16
The first Leapmotor EREV to arrive in Australia is expected to be the C10.
“If we start with all the urban areas… I think if that car comes here, we can really meet the needs of customers who have to travel longer distances, so I think that will give us the next phase of growth,” he said. Mr Hoang.
In addition to the B10 and C10, Leapmotor has a range of models for sale in China.
While it has only confirmed SUVs for Australia so far, it says it will also offer passenger cars.
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C11
“We are not an SUV brand. We are a brand that wants to bring technology to many people,” said Mr Hoang.
“If you’ve seen Leapmotor, the products we’ve launched in China: we have a small car, we have a sedan, we have bigger cars, we have SUVs.
“So the portfolio for us will be ‘how do we ensure we have cars that can meet different needs in Australia, not just SUVs?’.”
Leapmotor unveiled a larger SUV this year called the C16, which has yet to be confirmed for Australia.
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C01
This sits on top of the Leapmotor range, which also includes the C11 mid-size 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 T03 electric micro car, which is being rolled out in Europe, where it will be built at Stellantis’ factory in Tychy, Poland.
The company has not yet confirmed which models it will offer here alongside the B10 and C10, but Mr Hoang’s comments suggest that older vehicles such as the T03 will not make the journey.
“We’re getting new products that are designed for international markets, they’re not cars where you say, ‘Why are you bringing this minivan? Vans are not sold in Australia,” Mr Hoang said.
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T03
“It’s not a product left over from China or old models, older models that they’re trying to bring to Australia. They are actually new models made for the international market.
“We want the latest. I think the philosophy behind Leapmotor for us is to make sure we introduce that new technology en masse.”
The local arm will also benefit from the brand’s rapid global expansion, 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 supplies a global audience, so we are moving faster and faster from one factory to three factories,” said Mr Hoang.
“Which means that Australia in the grand scheme of things… our volume is so small that it will be easy for us to double, or triple our volume.”
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C10
While Leapmotor claims it will have a large selection, it doesn’t reveal its sales targets. However, it is said to grow steadily and sustainably.
“It is not our ambition to become market leader. It is not our intention to come second or third in the first year. We understand that it takes time to build a brand,” said Mr Hoang.
Leapmotor says that while the company expects the C10 to be popular with motorists, its core market will be young parents aged between 35 and 45. The company also expects that buyers will not necessarily come from electric cars, but from mid-size combustion engine SUVs.
“The way we see this car is that people don’t look at it like, ‘Oh, it’s an EV, and then I just look at all the other EVs,’” Mr. Hoang said.
“The question will be, ‘What kind of car do I need to fit my lifestyle?’ and then they say, ‘Oh, there’s actually an EV that fits in here too.’ It’s the opposite.”
Leapmotor doesn’t believe the unknown name in Australia will hold him back.
“The first question [customers may ask] is ‘Who is Leapmotor? Why should I believe this story?,” Mr Hoang said.
“That’s going to work against us. On the other hand, I guess [the fact] The fact that people don’t know us also gives us the chance that they are open to it, that there is no preconceived legacy of ‘Oh, it’s this, it’s that’.”
