Leapmotor ute still on the table, but there’s one big problem

Leapmotor remains open to launching a ute or commercial vehicle for markets such as Australia, but the Chinese automaker has admitted it currently lacks the ladder-frame platform required for a conventional dual-cab pickup.

Speaking with Australian media in China, Leapmotor International’s Global Head of Brand Strategy, Product and Marketing, Francesco Giacalone, said the Asia-Pacific region has become a bigger focus for the company over the past six to eight months as it looks for new opportunities outside China and Europe.

Asked whether there was room in Leapmotor’s global lineup for a commercial vehicle, Giacalone said there was “room for surprises”, and added that “anything is on the table”.

But when asked directly whether Leapmotor had a ladder-frame platform, Mr Giacalone said: “In this moment, the platform does not exist”,

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That means any future Leapmotor ute remains some way off, particularly if the brand wants to develop a proper rival for Australia’s top-selling dual-cabs such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

Leapmotor has previously confirmed it is studying the feasibility of a ute for Australia, but that the project would need combined global demand from markets such as Australia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil to justify production volumes.

Mr Giacalone previously said Leapmotor’s engineering team was exploring multiple body styles based on its latest LEAP 3.5 platform, including the possibility of a dual-cab ute.  

At the time, he said Australia alone would probably not justify the volume required for a new model, but combining demand from other ute-friendly markets could help create the critical mass needed to make the business case work.  

His latest comments suggest Leapmotor is still open to the idea, but also put a clearer boundary around how close to release a traditional ute can realistically be.

A ladder-frame architecture is the basis for most of Australia’s best-selling dual-cabs, including the Ranger, HiLux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton. Leapmotor’s current export market focus is instead built around passenger vehicles including the C10 mid-size SUV, B10 small SUV and B05 hatch.

However, the ute market remains a major opportunity – particularly in Australia, where tray-backed vehicles have been the most popular models overall for a decade.

The Ranger was the best-selling model here in 2025 with 56,555 deliveries, while the HiLux was third overall with 51,297. The Isuzu D-Max was fourth with 26,839 deliveries, and the Mitsubishi Triton also placed inside the top 20.  

Utes have continued to dominate in 2026, with the Ranger and HiLux topping the Australian sales charts in March. The locally developed Ford found 4452 new homes last month, ahead of the HiLux on 4167, while the D-Max and Triton also appeared inside the top 12.  

Chinese brands are also moving quickly into the segment that Leapmotor is still studying.

There is already no shortage of Chinese utes in Australia, including the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha, LDV T60 and Terron 9, Foton Tunland V7 and V9, MG U9 and JAC T9, with many more on the way including from Chery, Jetour and GAC.  

For Leapmotor, that creates both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity is clear: Australia likes utes, Chinese brands are already gaining ground, and electrified dual-cabs are no longer a theoretical proposition.

The challenge is equally clear though, as Leapmotor does not currently have the core architecture needed for a conventional workhorse ute, and any future pickup would need enough demand outside Australia to justify development.

It also isn’t the first time Leapmotor has played down the immediacy of a ute.

In April 2025, Leapmotor International CEO Tianshu Xin told Australian media the brand did not have a ute in its current product plan, saying pickups are not a major focus in China because the segment is small and they face city-centre restrictions.

However, he said that did not rule out Leapmotor entering the pickup or commercial vehicle space in the future.  

Mr Giacalone’s latest comments suggest that position has not changed dramatically, but Leapmotor is now putting greater emphasis on the Asia Pacific as it looks beyond its current passenger car lineup.

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