A newcomer outselling icons that have been entrenched for decades
Within the span of a single product cycle, a Chinese electric vehicle brand has quietly reordered the hierarchy of one of the world's great automotive empires. Leapmotor, present in Australia for barely two years, now outsells Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Peugeot — not through dominance, but through relevance at a moment when legacy names have lost their grip on a market hungry for something new. The story is less about one brand's triumph than about the widening distance between the automotive past and the electric future.
- Leapmotor's 170 sales in the first four months of 2026 are triple Jeep's and six times Alfa Romeo's — a gap that signals institutional crisis, not mere competition.
- Stellantis's legacy brands are not failing for lack of electric options: the Jeep Avenger was slashed by $16,000 and still sold only three units, exposing a deeper collapse in buyer trust.
- Rising fuel prices and genuine EV appetite are propelling Leapmotor forward, but the brand's own strategist admits novelty and timing are doing much of the heavy lifting.
- Outside the Stellantis family, Leapmotor remains a minor player — Geely has already cleared 1,200 Australian sales this year, revealing that winning internally is not the same as winning the market.
- With a target of 2.5 million global sales by 2030 and Australia earmarked as a key export hub, Leapmotor's next test is whether momentum can be converted into scale against dominant Chinese rivals.
In just two years, Leapmotor has become the best-performing brand inside Stellantis's Australian operation — outselling Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Peugeot for two consecutive years. Through April 2026, it had recorded 170 sales. Jeep managed 55. Alfa Romeo and Fiat each sold 26. The numbers are not close, and they point to something more than a newcomer's novelty.
The conditions favored Leapmotor's arrival. Fuel prices have risen, and Australian consumers are increasingly drawn to battery-powered vehicles. Leapmotor entered with products calibrated for that appetite. But the same appetite has not rescued the rest of the Stellantis portfolio. The Jeep Avenger — an electric model whose price was cut by as much as $16,000 — sold just three units in the same period. The Fiat 500e has fared no better. The issue is not the absence of electric options. It is the absence of buyers.
Stellantis's broader Australian position is fragile. Jeep's long-term survival in the market is now openly questioned, with declining volumes and a thinning dealer network. Leapmotor's rise, while real, carries its own asterisk: it is winning partly because the brands around it are retreating.
Leapmotor's strategy chief Francesco Giacalone was clear-eyed about where the real competition lies. The internal Stellantis ranking is not the goal — the goal is to outpace the Chinese EV rivals reshaping global markets. Geely, for instance, has already surpassed 1,200 Australian sales this year, a reminder of how much ground remains. Leapmotor has set its sights on 2.5 million global sales by 2030, with export markets — including Australia — central to that ambition. The internal battle is won. The larger one is just beginning.
In the span of two years, a Chinese electric vehicle maker has done something remarkable within one of the world's largest automotive conglomerates: it has become the strongest performer in Australia, outselling brands that have been household names for generations. Leapmotor, which arrived in the Australian market in 2024, has now surpassed Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, and Fiat for two consecutive years—a stunning reversal that speaks to both the newcomer's momentum and the deeper troubles afflicting Stellantis locally.
The numbers tell the story plainly. Through the first four months of 2026, Leapmotor had recorded 170 sales. Jeep managed 55. Alfa Romeo and Fiat each sold just 26 vehicles. These aren't marginal differences. They represent a fundamental shift in which brands are capturing buyer interest within the Stellantis family, and they raise uncomfortable questions about the viability of some of those legacy marques in a market that is rapidly changing.
What's driving Leapmotor's ascent is straightforward: Australians are hungry for electric vehicles. Fuel prices have climbed, consumer appetite for battery-powered cars is growing, and Leapmotor arrived with products designed for that exact moment. Francesco Giacalone, who leads strategy, product, and marketing for the brand, acknowledged the advantage plainly. There is novelty working in Leapmotor's favor, he said, but there is also genuine appetite for electric vehicles—even in Australia, a market long dominated by petrol-powered cars and trucks.
Yet that appetite has not lifted the rest of the Stellantis portfolio. Both Jeep and Fiat now sell electric models in Australia. The Jeep Avenger is one of them. The company has slashed its price by as much as $16,000 in recent months, a desperate attempt to move inventory. It has not worked. Only three Avengers sold in the first four months of 2026. The Fiat 500e, another electric offering, has similarly failed to gain traction. The problem is not that these vehicles lack electric options. The problem is that they lack buyers.
The broader context makes Leapmotor's rise even more striking. Stellantis as a whole is struggling in Australia. Once-dominant brands have seen volumes collapse. Jeep's future in the country is now uncertain, with sustained sales declines and a shrinking network of dealers raising questions about whether the brand can survive long-term in this market. Leapmotor, by contrast, is ascending—but even its success comes with a caveat.
Within the Stellantis family, Leapmotor is now the leader. In the wider Australian EV market, it remains a relatively small player. Geely, another Chinese brand, has already surpassed 1,200 sales this year. That gap is substantial, and it reflects the reality that Leapmotor's victory is partly a victory by default—it is winning because the legacy brands are losing, not necessarily because it has achieved dominant market share.
Giacalone was candid about the brand's ambitions. Leapmotor's focus is not on climbing the internal Stellantis hierarchy, he said. The real competition is external: the other Chinese EV makers who are reshaping the global automotive landscape. The brand's goal within Stellantis is to reach second or third place—still ahead of its Chinese rivals. That framing reveals something important about how Leapmotor sees itself: not as a Stellantis brand competing against Jeep and Alfa Romeo, but as a global EV competitor that happens to be housed within a larger corporate structure.
Looking ahead, Leapmotor has set an ambitious target: 2.5 million global sales by 2030, with roughly 40 percent coming from export markets. Australia is positioned to play an increasingly important role in that expansion. But the challenge ahead is clear. Leapmotor has won the internal battle. Now it must prove it can compete at scale against the Chinese rivals that are already dominating the market.
Notable Quotes
There is the novelty, there is the appetite for electric – even in Australia— Francesco Giacalone, Leapmotor strategy, product and marketing lead
In the family, we will be happy when we will be second or third, but still, we will be ahead of China's players— Francesco Giacalone, Leapmotor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does a brand that's been in the market for just two years end up outselling Jeep and Alfa Romeo?
It arrived at exactly the right moment. Fuel prices were climbing, Australians were getting serious about electric vehicles, and Leapmotor had products ready. The legacy brands had EVs too, but they seemed to be going through the motions—heavy discounts on the Jeep Avenger, barely any sales. Leapmotor felt like it was actually trying.
But Leapmotor's numbers are still small compared to other Chinese brands. Geely has over 1,200 sales. Why should we care about 170?
Because it's not really about the absolute number. It's about what it signals. Leapmotor is winning inside Stellantis while the entire group is collapsing in Australia. That's a symptom of something larger—the old automotive order is breaking down, and the new players are moving faster.
Is Leapmotor actually a good car, or is it just novelty?
The company's own executive said there's novelty working in their favor, but also genuine appetite for electric vehicles. I think it's both. Novelty gets you in the door, but you don't get 170 sales in four months on novelty alone. People are actually choosing it.
What happens to Jeep in Australia?
That's the real question nobody wants to answer. The brand is losing money, the dealer network is shrinking, and even heavy discounting isn't moving the Avenger. At some point, Stellantis has to decide whether it's worth keeping Jeep alive in this market.
So Leapmotor's real competition isn't Jeep. It's Geely and the other Chinese brands.
Exactly. Leapmotor's leadership said as much. They want to be second or third within Stellantis, but ahead of the Chinese rivals. That's the actual battle. Everything else is just internal shuffling.