Leapmotor could add more non-Stellantis dealers in Australia

Leapmotor could recruit more Australian dealers from outside the traditional Stellantis network as it looks to improve coverage beyond its current 24 locations.

Danilo Annese, Leapmotor International commercial head for the Enlarged Europe region, said the company's experience in Europe showed independent dealer groups could help it reach customers beyond Stellantis' existing retail footprint.

"I also think we could look outside our own Stellantis distribution network," Mr Annese told media, including CarExpert, at the international launch of the Leapmotor B03X in Spain.

"That is probably one of the things most complex to do, but that can give results."

Mr Annese said fewer than 10 per cent of Leapmotor's European dealers currently came from outside the Stellantis network, but those partners helped increase geographical coverage.

He said Australia had room for additional retail partners, including groups without an existing Stellantis franchise.

Stellantis Australia currently handles distribution of Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Jeep, with Ateco handling Maserati and Ram. Inchcape handles Peugeot, though the distributor announced in July it was dropping the French brand from its portfolio, which could leave Stellantis to pick up distribution.

Mr Annese's comments don't amount to confirmation Leapmotor Australia has appointed another dealer or set a new network target.

The executive oversees the company's European commercial operations and repeatedly acknowledged Australia was outside his direct area of responsibility.

He does, however, have direct experience in dealer-network development. Before taking his current role, he was responsible for worldwide and European network development at Stellantis and helped establish Leapmotor International.

Leapmotor was launched in Australia with nine dealerships in November 2024. The network had expanded to 12 locations by January 2025, when Leapmotor Australia boss Andy Hoang said the company intended to reach between 20 and 30 dealers by the end of that year.

Leapmotor now says its vehicles are available through 24 Australian dealerships, placing it within the range previously outlined by Mr Hoang.

The brand has never restricted its Australian representation exclusively to retailers already selling Stellantis products.

At launch, it appointed a mixture of existing Stellantis dealerships and other established automotive groups. Further expansion outside the Stellantis network would therefore extend that approach rather than introduce it for the first time.

Stellantis controls 51 per cent of Leapmotor International, the joint venture responsible for distributing and manufacturing Leapmotor vehicles outside Greater China.

That relationship has given Leapmotor access to existing dealer, service, parts and logistics infrastructure, but Australia's size still makes national coverage difficult with a relatively small network.

The requirement is also growing as Leapmotor adds vehicles.

It entered Australia with the C10 mid-size SUV and has since introduced the B10 small SUV and B05 electric hatch. The smaller B03X electric SUV is set to follow as the brand's fourth model here.

Leapmotor delivered 112 vehicles in Australia during August 2026, up 286.2 per cent on the same month a year earlier, although the increase came from a low base.

Mr Annese acknowledged the brand hadn't expanded as quickly in Australia as it had in Europe, where it could lean more heavily on Stellantis' much larger dealer network.

He also noted rival Chinese brands had entered Australia with broader model ranges and larger marketing budgets.

His view is that more products and wider retail coverage could help Leapmotor close some of that gap.

Leapmotor Australia hasn't announced how many additional dealerships it wants or which metropolitan and regional areas it's targeting.

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