It’s not often you get to launch a brand from scratch in the UK car market, let alone one backed by one of the biggest automotive groups in the world. But that’s exactly what Damien Dally has been doing over the past year as managing director of Leapmotor International UK. By his own admission, it’s been as challenging as it has been rewarding.
“First of all, I really, really wanted this job because to get to launch a brand from scratch I think is a real big thing,” he said. “That’s something I want to say when I look back and say ‘I did that’.”
That sense of building something entirely new underpins Leapmotor’s first year in the UK. Unlike many new entrants, it’s had a bit of a helping hand. The brand operates under a joint venture with Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest car maker, giving it immediate access to infrastructure, dealer networks and operational systems that most startups can only dream of.
But that doesn’t mean it’s been straightforward, as Dally explained. “You never really know what you’re getting yourself into, to start from a blank sheet of paper,” he said. “We have the backing of Stellantis, which is a key USP, but there’s a lot to do from zero to something.”
One unexpected, and surprising, hurdle has been insurance. “In a 29-year career, probably for the first 28 years of that I’ve never spoken to an insurance company. I’ve now probably spoken to all the insurance companies,” he said. “That was interesting. That’s probably the one that jumps out the most.”
At the same time, Leapmotor has been building everything from scratch – not just a product lineup, but a team and a brand identity.
“It’s been great fun because we’ve built a team from scratch. There was nobody. So obviously I’ve recruited, which is great. So, I got to pick people,” Dally explained.
And that brand identity is where Leapmotor is trying to do things a little differently. In a crowded field of new Chinese entrants offering high-tech, high-spec, keenly priced EVs.
With brands like Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep under his belt, Dally knows a thing or two about building brands and believes differentiation comes down to something more emotional.
“People historically bought into brands and brand is really important – brand is the key differentiator,” he said.
Dally’s answer for Leapmotor takes a slightly unexpected inspiration: Nike.
“We really wanted to have a bit of fun,” he said. “I think that’s what we want to be, is we want to be a serious brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
That thinking led to the “Take the Leap” messaging – encouraging buyers to move from traditional petrol power to something new – backed up by attention-grabbing marketing, including a 100-metre bungee jump in central London for customers and early adopters.
But behind the playful tone sits a serious strategy – one that has shaped how Leapmotor has approached both its first year and what comes next.
A key moment came last summer, when uncertainty around the UK government’s EV grant left the market in limbo. Leapmotor moved quickly, launching its own scheme within days.
“We came up with the idea of doing our own grant and I got it approved by Leapmotor within 24 or 48 hours – I announced on Friday 18 July,” Dally said. “That was our takeoff. That was our blast off and that was a real important moment.”
That agility reflects Leapmotor’s unique structure. “We have two parents,” Dally explained. “You’ve got the big mothership of Stellantis… whereas you’ve got the Leapmotor side with the mentality of a startup.”
It’s a combination that also feeds into one of the brand’s biggest selling points: reassurance.
“What customers want is peace of mind,” says Dally. “What I don’t want is another concern… is this company still going to be here in five minutes’ time?”
That’s where Stellantis comes in, not just as a badge of credibility, but as a practical advantage. Leapmotor launched with a ready-made dealer network and has already grown to more than 70 sites, with plans to push beyond 100 – including some standalone, non-Stellantis dealers.
“We’ll have between 100 and 110 dealers,” said Dally. “Which will give us really, really good national coverage.”
Alongside that expansion, the product lineup is set to grow rapidly – but not in the way you might expect from a new Chinese brand.
“A lot of the other Chinese brands are launching model after model – almost the ‘more models, the better’,” Dally explained. “We have not taken that approach, we want to be a mainstream brand, effectively a household name and offering cars that are fully specced, loaded with tech, and that are suited to the audience – and more importantly that people want to buy.
“We are a new brand so want to be simple and not add confusion – we don’t want a 10-car range covering every segment, but a tight range covering the key areas the customer wants.”
Instead, Leapmotor has taken a deliberately structured approach. “We launched with our smallest and biggest cars, and committed to ‘fill the gaps’,” he said.
Those gaps will be filled quickly over the next 12 months. A new C-segment SUV, the B10, is now on sale and targetting the UK’s biggest-selling part of the market. It’ll be followed by a C-segment hatchback – the B05 – in the summer.
A smaller B-segment SUV called B03X will join the range, before a final addition completes the current product cycle. “The 6th car of the current range that will arrive very end of the year or early next will be a B-segment hatchback,” Dally confirmed.
By that point, Leapmotor will have moved from two cars to six – covering around 90 per cent of the UK market. “Within two years of launching, we’ll have gone from 33 per cent of the market covered… to over 90 per cent of the market covered,” he said.
Hybrid versions of key SUVs are also on the way, giving buyers more flexibility as the market continues to evolve.
Looking further ahead, Dally is clear that the focus remains on simplicity – but that doesn’t mean the range won’t evolve. “Taking the principal of simplicity and not wanting too many models – we don’t currently see a range beyond six, but we are looking where we have gaps,” he said.
Those gaps could open up new opportunities. “Could we go smaller than T03, bigger than C10 (4.7m)? Do we need 4WD? Do we need more horsepower? We have four to five seats; do we need more? Possibly.”
Even more niche areas are under consideration. “Should we look at commercial vehicles and car derived vans? I can confirm we are looking at this – firstly on T03,” Dally revealed. That’s likely to be one of the cheapest commercial vehicles on sale in the UK.
Despite all that potential expansion, the underlying philosophy remains unchanged: keep things simple, well-specced and good value. “We never set out to be the cheapest… what we want to do is to be the best value,” says Dally. “You pay X and you get Y and the Y is massively beneficial.”
That extends to the buying process, too. Leapmotor offers a single, high-spec trim level in the UK, avoiding the complexity of multiple versions and options. “It’s simplicity and it’s beautiful,” he said.
The approach appears to be working. Leapmotor has seen strong growth in orders and enquiries, with Dally pointing to a 40 per cent increase in order intake and a threefold rise in website traffic.
“I think anyone who’s looking to change their car right now is thinking, should my next car be electric?” he said.
And with rising living costs, that value-led positioning is becoming increasingly relevant. “Household incomes are relatively static. Household outgoings definitely aren’t static. People need to think about value now,” he said.
Looking ahead to year two, Leapmotor’s challenge will be scaling up without losing the agility and personality that have defined its first year. “I think our challenge is when you get bigger you need to evolve, but you need to protect some of those fundamentals that made you good in the first place,” Dally said.
For now, though, the ambition is clear. “We want to be considered to be a serious brand which doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
In a market full of new names, that mix of clarity, confidence and a carefully planned lineup could be exactly what helps Leapmotor make the leap from Chinese newcomer to a serious contender with a difference. It’s a bit like where Nike was all those years ago.
