6:21 am, June 11, 2026
Leapmotor is bringing a wave of fresh customers into Stellantis, who have never bought from the firm’s brands before.
That is according to the Chinese firm’s UK MD, Damien Dally, who insists that the newcomer is not canniblising Stellantis’s existing offerings.
Dally appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, where he revealed that 95% of Leapmotor’s retail customers have never previously owned a Stellantis vehicle.
He told hosts James Batchelor and Jon Reay that the outfit now operates around 80 dealerships across the country, with aims to expand to as many as 110 by the end of the year.
The majority of that expansion will come from existing Stellantis partners although the brand remains open to signing up with new dealers too.
‘The statistic that really stands out for me is that 95 per cent of our profiled retail customers are conquest customers to Stellantis,’ he said.
‘So these are not customers who were previously driving a Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep or Alfa Romeo. These are people who are completely new to the group.
‘That tells us we’re attracting a different audience and bringing incremental customers into our retailers, which is exactly what we set out to do.’
He added: ‘We’ve got a roadmap to around 99 sites already and we’ll continue to grow from there,” he said.
‘There will come a point where we need to recruit retailers from outside the current Stellantis network and that’s something we’re actively looking at.
‘We want representation in the right markets and we want partners who are excited about the opportunity that Leapmotor presents.’
In a previous interview with Car Dealer last year, Dally was bold in his predictions for Leapmotor.
He told us that while ‘not all Chinese carmakers will make it’ in the UK, Leapmotor would not be one of those to fall by the wayside.
Speaking on the podcast, he repeated that belief and admitted that early performance had actually exceeded expectations, with the vast majority of registrations coming from private retail buyers rather than fleet channels.
‘We are running at close to 70% retail and around 98% battery-electric mix,’ he explained.
‘Those are really encouraging numbers because they’re showing strong engagement from private customers and proving there’s genuine demand for the product.”
‘Never say never’ on UK manufacturing
Leapmotor has been able to grow rapidly since arriving in Europe, thanks in no small part to Stellantis’s manufacuring capabilities.
The firm’s T03 city car is currently produced in Poland, while future manufacturing projects are planned at Stellantis facilities in Spain.
Dally believes that local production could become an increasingly important advantage as Chinese manufacturers seek to establish themselves in Europe.
He said: ‘We’ve already demonstrated the ability to manufacture vehicles in Europe through our partnership with Stellantis.
‘That gives us flexibility and it gives us options as the business develops.
‘We’ve got access to an incredible manufacturing footprint across Europe and that’s a significant strength for us.’
Asked whether that manufacturing footprint could one day extend to the UK, Dally refused to rule out the possibility.
‘Never say never,’ he said. ‘We are part of a global organisation with a huge industrial base and we’re always looking at opportunities.
‘At the moment our focus is on growing the brand and establishing the business, but you should never close the door on future possibilities.’
You can watch the full episode on the Car Dealer 2.0 YouTube channel or listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
