Chinese brand says rivals are bringing cars to Australia to clear excess volume

Leapmotor’s local boss Andy Hoang said rival brands are bringing some models here simply because there’s excess supply elsewhere in the world – and he thinks Australian buyers are too clever to fall for it.

The fledgling Chinese brand is gradually expanding its model lineup after launching here with the mid-size C10 SUV in 2024, followed by the small B10 SUV in 2025, the small B05 hatchback this year, and with the B03X light SUV due here before the end of the year.

The company has confirmed it’s eyeing a three-row SUV for Australia, as well as the B03X’s hatchback sibling and a sporty version of the B05 as it looks to flesh out its lineup.

It already has models in three of the top-five largest segments in terms of sales volume – medium SUVs, small SUVs and small cars – and is looking to enter the number-four segment in Australia, large SUVs.

“We are looking at a range of other products. B03 is one of them. B05 Ultra is one of them. C16. D19,” Mr Hoang told CarExpert.

“These are all vehicles that Leapmotor has announced globally that these are products that we have in our stable, and these are the products we will be looking at for international markets, and it’s just a matter of us working through what is the best timing for us to get some of those products, and which ones that we think have an opportunity to help us here, grow our footprint, and customers demand.”

But without naming names, Mr Hoang suggested some brands aren't as discerning about which models they introduce to Australia.

“The last thing you want is to bring vehicles here that are... and I won’t name names, and you look and you go, ‘Why is that car here? No one here would even like that car, and it’s here because there’s excess volume somewhere else’,” he said.

“Customers here are smart, they can see through that, so we want to make sure that everything that we bring here fits the appetite and the palette of Australian customers. And we’ve seen that – when we put up B10, the support for that was really strong, B05 is even stronger again, and B03X... early days, again is like, ‘Wow that’s a great product, we need that one.’”

It’s unclear which brands Mr Hoang is referring to – company executives tend to avoid name-checking their rivals – but there are various brands that have massively expanded the size of their model lineups in a short period of time.

MG had just three models in 2022, but last year it launched five new models, following these up in 2026 with another three new models – giving it a total of 14.

This expansion was a mixture of models in high-volume segments – such as the U9 ute, QS large three-row SUV, and the S5 and S6 small and medium electric SUVs – but also vehicles entering segments in which sales volumes are significantly lower, like the mid-size MG 7 liftback and more premium IM5 electric liftback.

Meanwhile, BYD has launched five new models over the past 12 months, and its lineup now comprises 12 models, up from just one in 2022.

It has tackled high-volume segments like small SUVs (Atto 2), medium SUVs (Sealion 5) and large SUVs (Sealion 8), but also brought traditionally lower-volume fare like the Seal 6 mid-size sedan and wagon.

But no Chinese automaker has announced an expansion quite as ambitious as Chery, which is not only bringing a glut of new models to Australia but also a glut of brands. It'll have eight here by the end of 2027.

Again, it’s unclear which brand or brands Mr Hoang is referring to, but he has said he’s focused on growing Leapmotor in Australia.

“We know as a startup the challenges for us to make the business work is… we need to have good products, we need a great dealer network, and then we need brand awareness, and we’re making inroads on all three of those,” he told CarExpert.

The Leapmotor Australia boss also told CarExpert it isn't being inundated with excess stock from head office, and has a rigid process in place to manage its stock and inventory.

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