jump motor remains open to launching a light or commercial vehicle for markets such as Australia, but the Chinese automaker has admitted it currently lacks the ladder frame platform required for a traditional dual-cab pickup.
Speaking to Australian media in China, Francesco Giacalone, global head of brand strategy, product and marketing at Leapmotor International, said the Asia-Pacific region has become more of a focus for the company in the last six to eight months as it looks for new opportunities outside of China and Europe.
Asked if there was room for a commercial vehicle in Leapmotor’s global lineup, Giacalone said there was “room for surprises,” adding that “everything is on the table.”
However, when Mr. Giacalone was asked directly if Leapmotor had a ladder frame platform, he said, “At the moment the platform doesn’t exist.”
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That means a future Leapmotor ute is still some way off, especially if the brand wants to develop a real competitor to Australia’s best-selling dual cabs such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
Leapmotor has previously confirmed it is studying the feasibility of a metro for Australia, but that the project would require combined global demand from markets including 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 crew cab.
At the time, he said Australia alone was unlikely to justify the volume required for a new model, but combining demand from other user-friendly markets could help create the critical mass needed to make the business model work.
His latest comments suggest that Leapmotor is still open to the idea, but is also setting a clearer limit on how close to releasing a traditional ute it can realistically be.
A ladder frame architecture is the basis for most of Australia’s best-selling double cabs, including the Ranger, HiLux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton. Leapmotor’s current export market focus is instead on passenger vehicles, including the C10 mid-size SUV, B10 small SUV and B05 hatch.
However, the ute market remains a huge opportunity – particularly in Australia, where tub-back 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 took fourth place with 26,839 deliveries, and the Mitsubishi Triton also placed in the top 20.
Utes continued to dominate in 2026, with the Ranger and HiLux topping the Australian sales charts in March. The locally developed Ford found 4,452 new homes last month, ahead of the HiLux on 4,167, while the D-Max and Triton also finished in the top 12.
Chinese brands are also quickly moving into the segment that Leapmotor is still exploring.
There is already no shortage of Chinese vehicles in Australia, including 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, this is both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity is clear: Australia likes subways, Chinese brands are already on the rise and electrified double cabs are no longer a theoretical proposition.
However, the challenge is equally clear, as Leapmotor currently does not have the core architecture required for a traditional workhorse, and any future pickup would need sufficient demand outside of Australia to justify development.
It’s also not the first time Leapmotor has downplayed the immediacy of a ute.
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However, he said that does not preclude Leapmotor from venturing into the pickup or commercial vehicle space in the future.
Mr Giacalone’s recent comments suggest the position hasn’t changed dramatically, but Leapmotor is now placing greater emphasis on Asia Pacific as the company looks beyond its current passenger car offering.
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