Next Chinese brand to hit here has kicked in aggressively across the Tasman. Will the same ploy play out here?

MIGHT another China-sourced electric car here about to arrive further agitate the pricing and warranty provision war between other home turf rivals already here?

Leapmotor appears just weeks away from sharing its strategy for New Zealand, starting with the C10 medium crossover it will kick off with in early to mid-2025.

What sticker the five-seater will hold has yet to be spelled out, but if pricing announced in Australia is reflective of what is being considered here, then potential of it at least banging heads with current Chinese price leaders BYD, MG and Jaecoo-Omoda might realise.

Like the latter, Leapmotor comes to New Zealand with absolutely no international brand equity. It was only founded in 2015. 

So the biggest challenge will simply be to win any kind of attention at all.

The Chinese brand’s international involvement occurs through a partnership with conglomerate Stellantis, whose many brands are already sold here.

Stellantis represents via two separate, competing distributors here. 

It’s been established Leapmotor will team with the Peugeot, Citroen and Opel representation, which delivers via the Auto Distributors New Zealand mantle owned by the (Rick) Armstrong Group, rather than with the more nationally-representative Ateco NZ Jeep-RAM-Alfa Romeo side.

Armstrongs also has skin in the EV game, with Opel; the German marque’s re-introduction here was wholly based on presenting as an electric brand. 

But with change of Government, the push has become so much harder … no more rebates, arrival of Road User Charges and the new car sales slump has smashed brands’ electric dreams. Opel’s among those whose high-flier aspiration has been grounded.

Leapmotor only makes battery cars. Founder Zhu Jiangming is an electrical engineer who has over 30 years of technical experience, according to the company website, which also describes the brand effort as being about delivering “technology-driven intelligent electric vehicles.”

Leapmotor International is separate from Leapmotor’s domestic operations in China and Stellantis has 51 percent share.

Leapmotor has proposed its model should be considered a Tesla Model Y equivalent, but at same token has determined to deliver pricing in Australia that really pitches it in a much lower spending zone than the $60,000-plus Musk car.

Effectively, the entry Style version could yet be seen as a potential foil for the BYD Atto 3, MG 4 and the top-tier Omoda C5, even though it is a physically bigger car than the BYD and the MG - or the Opel Mokka and Peugeot e-2008 ADNZ also represents. 

Like the Omoda, C10 is really a medium car, so more in keeping size-wise with the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq, but cheaper.

In Australia, the Style is going to sell for $50,000 while a higher-spec Design will come in for $55k. 

Across the Tasman that sort of money will buy an Atto 3 and another newcomer EV, also from China - though it’s behind the Kia badge - the EV5. Here the BYD and MG have re-priced to a lower level to jolt life back into sales activity. Both flat-lined early in the year.

Our neighbour is also being offered a seven year unlimited kilometres warranty and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.

Customers in Australia who take delivery of their Leapmotor C10 by March 31 next year will receive one-year free charging on a popular network.

The Leapmotor C10 models have the same rear-mounted 160kW/320Nm e-motor, 69.9kWh battery pack, 84kW-maximum recharging and 420 kilometres’ claimed WLTP range, but are comfortably separated by their equipment lists.

A Style has 18-inch alloy wheels, dusk-sensing LED headlights, a 14.6-inch infotainment system, sat-nav, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, dual-zone automatic climate control, power-adjustable front seats, wireless phone charger, a fixed panoramic roof, 12-speaker sound system, 360-degree camera and flush door handles.

The Design variant adds 20-inch alloys, LED tail-light bar with animated signature, Silicone leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, powered tailgate, interior air quality monitor, multi-colour ambient lighting and rear privacy glass.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not available with the C10 until an updated model arrives next year. Cars in original state cannot be retro-fitted.