Make’s most affordable product yet, B03X, is core to campaign to raise market status, sales network expansion and customer awareness.

LEANING more into fleet opportunities is a priority for the distributor of Leapmotor, likewise proving itself different not only to all other Chinese marques - but every brand it competes against here.

Two years on from debut, this Auto Distributors New Zealand holding has, with 299 unit sold in 2025 and 399 so far thus year, performed admirably compared to other makes availed here by its ultimate manufacturing parent, Franco-Italian-American giant Stellantis (owners of Peugeot, Fiat, Opel, Jeep and others).

But measurement against other brands out of China counts for more, and in respect to those it’s not imprinting as quickly as ADNZ chief executive Simon Rutherford believes it could.

Ultimate aim would be to be up with the big guns - BYD, MG, and GWM, which respectively right now site fourth, fifth and sixth in the local passenger vehicle market.

In the more immediate term, he’d settle to simply equal or better the likes of Jaecoo, Omoda and their parent, Chery, all of which seem set for 1000-plus unit results this year.

How to do that? More models. Effort so far has been with two crossovers, the C10 and B10, in electric and electrified (range-extender).

Now it’s launching two more battery-wed products, the sport-themed B05 and the the more compact B03X, a price leader here from late September - so arriving around the same time as the B05 previously detailed by this site - but previewed by media yesterday.

New Zealand is one of the first exports markets to see the latter, which sites in $37,990 130kW/200Nm, 39.8kWh battery with 100kW DC charging and 292 kilometres WLTP range Life and $42,990 Design(145kW/200Nm, 53kWh battery, 133kW charging, 382km WLTP) formats.

Both grades use LFP battery chemistry, will clock 0-100kmh in 8.6 seconds and top out at 160kmh.

Also announced: More representation. Having had four stores, it will increase to nine by September 1, with fresh sites in Rotorua, Palmerston North, and Hawkes Bay. Additionally, it’s looking to set up in Nelson, Dunedin, Invercargill, Whangarei, and West Auckland to achieve properly national representation.

Rutherford says starting out with four outlets was fine in the early days, but now it’s obvious “that’s not enough to give you market coverage. With those 12 dealers, 80 per cent of the market will be covered.”

Also, more sales opportunities, with particular effort to secure fleet interest. Rutherford sees particular opportunity chasing small to medium businesses requiring 10-15 vehicles.

Potentially core to that will be B03X. It’s being touted as the poster child for the make’s new “excellence within reach,” credo.

At 4270mm long, 1810mm wide and 1635mm tall, it takes up modest road space but a 2605mm wheelbase and flat-floor construction allow for decent interior room and clever storage with a boot with 405 litres’ capacity becoming 105 litres larger when a “giga box” hidden beneath a floating floor is also used.

Leapmotor also counts 33 storage solutions within the cabin, and it apes Honda’s popular ‘magic seat’ solution - a proprietary name Leapmotor has nonetheless also nabbed - by which the rear bench base flips up for carrying taller items.

Standard to B03X is a 14.6-inch central touchscreen and 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster running Leap OS 4.0, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, embedded 4G connectivity, over-the-air updates and built-in apps including Spotify and YouTube. A voice assistant, three drive modes (Comfort, Standard and Sport) and a trip planner with charging station suggestions are also standard.

Life has cloth upholstery whereas Design goes to eco-leather upholstery, and the higher spend car also adds in a six-way electric driver’s seat, heated front seats and steering wheel, auto-folding mirrors, front parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, ambient lighting and doubles the speaker count from six to 12. But the big difference comes down to battery size.

Other Leapmotor cars have five star ANCAP sanction; the B03X has yet to meet our independent assessor but it seems well provisioned with seven airbags and a 21-function suite of driver assistance features running on 14 sensors and cameras, delivering Level 2 capability.

We’d like to tell you how it drives but that side of things in under embargo until September 12, right before the car comes on sale. Given that the examples here now are pre-production examples, we’ll wait for NZ product is available for road test.

That’s not to suggest what enters the showroom will be any different in respect to look and fit out. The cars offered for driving seemed up to saleable standard and are being shown to prospective customers.

Consumer hesitancy around new Chinese brands is acknowledged yet Rutherford feels B03X stands as a good candidate for consideration by fleets who are now looking at all models Leapmotor has.

“We’re getting lots of inquiry across the range. We've done a little bit of rental business, but we've not … had a structured approach across all of our brands. That's what I want us to have. And what I mean by structure is there's regular dialogue serving the (fleets) about what they want when they want.

“I think where we are going to earn most of our share is probably in smaller fleets initially.”

Leapmotor aims to implement a ride-share programme as it searches for new sales channels, hiring a new group fleet manager to help oversee the project.

With many Chinese makes still being so new, it’s obvious factors such as reliability, servicing, parts replacement and accident repair and, above all, long-term residual value come into it.

Some in the industry say the latter is China Inc’s biggest weakness but Rutherford says that while many products hav’t been long enough n the market to set a full accurate gauge, early indications are that cars coming into the used market are holding reasonable value.

“We're seeing demand for these vehicles in the used car space at a level that we weren't seeing before. I think that's just a maturity and confidence thing for the market as a whole.”

In a market that holds a unprecedented 78 brands, with more out of China on the way, Rutherford feels raising Leapmotor’s status now is all the more important.

“At the start of the year we knew obviously what products were coming, and we just asked ourselves some of the harder questions. What do we think is stopping people buying our cars or even considering them.

“We believe that to be successful in today’s market, it’s not all about banging the bottom of the funnel and pricing. You’ve got to be competitive, so you’ve got to match that with some desirability and differentiation on the ground.

“We have the platform, we have belief in the brand, we know we can do better, and we’re just putting all of those ingredients together at this point.”

Alongside boosting its dealership network, Leapmotor has also bolstered its warranty offering. Having previously covered its vehicles with a four-year/100,000km warranty, it now utilises a six-year/150,000km cover to become more in line with its rivals.

ADNZ has also decided to increase its marketing spend and has secured the services of a new marketing agency partner.

The writer was a guest of ADNZ, with travel, a meal and a small gift provided.