Leapmotor won't just export carbon copies of the models it sells in China

Leapmotor says it's prepared to make additional engineering changes to cars sold outside China, rather than simply exporting vehicles with the same chassis tuning used in its domestic market.

Speaking with Australian media in China, Leapmotor International’s Global Head of Brand Strategy, Product and Marketing, Francesco Giacalone, said the brand is now using Stellantis engineering expertise to assess the dynamics of vehicles destined for export markets before they enter production.

That means current and future Leapmotor models sold in Australia could benefit from European-market chassis development and potentially even Australia-specific tuning if local volumes justify the extra investment.

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The comments follow feedback from Australian media that several Chinese-market Leapmotor models felt softer and floatier than local buyers typically expect.

Mr Giacalone said Leapmotor has already responded to similar feedback in Europe, including on the B03X small electric SUV and the Volkswagen Golf-sized B05 electric hatch, the latter of which is confirmed for Australia by the end of this year.

According to Mr Giacalone, Leapmotor tested three different suspension setups for the European-market B03X before selecting the final specification with input from Stellantis engineering, quality teams and customer clinics in Europe.

He said the changes to the B05 were more extensive, with the company making physical engineering revisions to the rear suspension mounting points rather than simply changing springs or dampers.

“So if you drive a B05 European versus B05 for China, it is totally [different],” he said.

Asked whether the European chassis tune would become the standard export-market setup, including for Australia, Mr Giacalone said it would depend on the requirements of each region.

“It depends on if Australian team is satisfied with the same type of tune of Europe that can be done,” he said.

However, he cautioned that a unique Australian specification would need to be supported by sales volume.

“To justify a unique version for Australia where you change important things… there should be a business case behind the volumes that justify this approach,” he said.

That suggests Australian-market Leapmotors are more likely to receive the same export-market tune as Europe unless local sales volumes grow enough to justify bespoke changes.

Furthermore, Mr Giacalone said Leapmotor is now trying to make this process systematic for every model it introduces outside China, with a complete vehicle dynamics evaluation by Stellantis engineers around six to seven months before start of production.

The strategy has already begun to show in the brand’s Australian lineup.

The current B10’s chassis setup benefited from tuning by the “Stellantis Chassis Master Team”, described as a group of Maserati engineers tasked with improving ride and handling across selected Stellantis models.  

The B10 is Leapmotor’s second Australian model after the C10 mid-size SUV, and is priced from $38,990 drive-away. Leapmotor remains a relatively small player in Australia, but its sales are growing.

Leapmotor delivered 61 vehicles in January, 46 in February and 170 in March 2026 for a total 277 vehicles in the first quarter of 2026.  

That put it ahead of several other Stellantis-distributed brands in Australia for the quarter, including Jeep and Alfa Romeo, although it remained behind Fiat.

The wider EV market also had a strong March, with sales up 88.9 per cent to 15,839 units, representing a record 14.6 per cent of the total Australian new-car market.  

Even so, Leapmotor still trails the biggest Chinese brands in Australia by a significant margin. In March, BYD delivered 7217 vehicles, GWM delivered 5680, MG delivered 4218 and Chery delivered 4018.

That makes the Australian business case for a unique local ride and handling tune more difficult in the short term, but Leapmotor’s growing lineup could change the equation.

The B05 hatch is due by the end of 2026, while its hotter B05 Ultra sibling was revealed at the 2026 Beijing motor show with a 180kW/255Nm rear-mounted motor, a claimed 0-100km/h time as quick as 5.9 seconds, and a retuned and lowered “Sino-European” suspension setup.  

Leapmotor has not officially confirmed the B05 Ultra for export markets such as Australia, although Mr Giacalone had previously suggested that the hotter flagship would join the standard B05 in Australia by early 2027.  

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