Is made in China better than made in Europe? This Chinese electric car brand thinks so
Chinese newcomer Leapmotor says China now sits above Europe in terms of new-car build quality,.
The brand reckons its domestic factories are the global “benchmark” thanks to better infrastructure and higher levels of automation.
That claim comes from the brand’s international product and marketing chief, Francesco Giacalone, who says delays in moving some production to Europe are partly driven by concerns that manufacturing there won’t match the quality of Leapmotor’s Chinese plants.
For background, Leapmotor International is is planning to kick off European manufacturing of its B10 EV, specifically in Spain, as a way to sidestep fees and levies. Currently it faces a 20.7 per cent levie and a 10 per cent import duty.
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But Mr Giacalone suggests the plan has been delayed at least partly over concerns over quality. He points to the B10 electric SUV as evidence, arguing that its manufacturing quality sets a standard Europe will struggle to match without major upgrades.
The B10 goes on-sale in Australia before the end of 2025.
“You can take a B10 now, and from classic quality measurement standards – you go and check the gaps between the assembly and the components – you will see that it is absolutely perfect,” he says.
“Second, the plants in China, they are three, four years old, and fully automated. So from welding, painting – it’s a level of automation that, in a plant in Europe that has been existing for 40 or 50 years, is not that evident.
“You need to make some investments to go on par, at least from a technological point of view.
“So that’s why the quality of product produced in China is so far a benchmark.”.
Mr Giacalone insists the the decision to build or not to build in Spain isn’t just about tariffs.
“We have confirmed that production will be in Spain if conditions are met,” he says.
“One is the quality, because cars coming from China have very high standards of quality, so we cannot just fill any capacity if the base standards to achieve that level are not met.”
Leapmotor is a two-model brand in Australia, with the C10 EV and REEV now joined by the B10 EV. The B05 small car will be added in 2026.
Global expansion is key to the company’s plans, which is backed by auyto gisant Sterllantis in its international expansion plans. While the new(ish) company has sold more than one million vehicles since its launch around 10 years ago, just 30,000 of those occurred outside China.
