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We speak to Leapmotor Ireland exclusively!
335 Plays10 days ago
Of course, Paddy and Mark chat about the news this week including the latest SIMI sales figures, what they're both driving and all the other things two lads chat about BUT we also jump inside a new Leapmotor C10 EV ahead of its official launch in September in Ireland and we chat extensively to one of the key members of the team behind the launch of yet another Chinese manufactured car in Ireland, Stephen McGrath.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Sponsor Highlight
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Motors where more Irish drivers find their next car from a trusted dealership than anywhere else. Why? Because Dundeele's trusted dealer programme means verified dealerships and the kind of backup that matters like warranties and history checks giving you confidence from your very first click.
First Impressions of Leap Motor in Ireland
00:00:19
Speaker
Hello Paddy Common. Mark Noble. How are you? You'll be able describe to everyone where we are right now. I am sitting in the back of a brand new entrance to the Irish market. Oh, yeah. A brand that I had not heard of a matter of months ago.
00:00:37
Speaker
What about you? ah Similar to be honest with you I'm also obviously sitting in the place same place But I also hadn't really heard much I was wondering when they'd show up alright So we're sitting in a Leap Motor Car But not the baby one No It's very impressive as well I am am a pretty tall guy And I'm not exactly skinny And I am very very comfortable here In the back of this This Which is which is why How would you describe it
Leap Motor's Pricing Strategy
00:01:08
Speaker
in terms of size? It's kind of like a Kodiak. It's kind of a Kodiak size, yeah. yeah and
00:01:12
Speaker
Similar space. maybe Maybe not as tall as a Kodiak. Nose-wise, it looks like um an X-Pang, I think. Rear-wise, don't know how you'd... It has a huge light bar, but so does everything else these days.
00:01:24
Speaker
There's Bang and Lexus off it as well, I think, from for a little bit further out. Certainly terms of the colour combination. um It's a good-looking thing, really. Yeah.
00:01:35
Speaker
And it's, i mean, prices haven't been revealed yet, but if the prices are what we think they might be, well, there's a lot there. Well, they they weren't, you know, we're obviously, we're here for a reason. We're talking to Steve McGrath, who's brand manager for Leap Motor in Ireland, and um we're going to be talking to him a little bit later on, and we were quizzing him a little bit about these.
00:01:56
Speaker
models and obviously look he's not going to be drawn on price but we can expect these to be competitively priced given what we've seen from other entrants to the market of of late um you know I think this is going to be a pretty attractive proposition but will they want to undercut even BYD I would
Leap Motor's Market Expansion and Origins
00:02:14
Speaker
suspect so. I mean, i I think no matter what, if you're a new entrant to the market, you have to make an impact. You have to make it, you know, come out with a bang.
00:02:22
Speaker
You know, BYD, albeit reasonably new, are still, you know, are one of the better established ones already to the Irish market. So and a new one coming on stream is going to have to make an impact.
00:02:35
Speaker
I'd agree with you. um And I think it's just an indicator of what is achievable from some of these brands. And as I sit here now, I'm in a very comfortable leather seat and everything feels nicely put together. as lovely ambient lighting that's changing.
00:02:50
Speaker
There's a a camp mode. There's a guard mode. There's a cleaning mode. um And the software looks quite BYD-ish, to be honest with you. It's almost like someone went into the BYD factory at night and copied what they do.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah, and this is a brand which only started as a company in 2015, and that wasn't even making
Vehicle Experiences: Cooper Taviskan & VW Multivan
00:03:09
Speaker
cars. um I think they were involved um in surveillance, actually, was the global company. Yeah, they were involved in surveillance systems.
00:03:17
Speaker
They're good at surveillance, in fairness. And I've only been a ah car company since about 2017, 2018, interesting Anyway, we'll talk to Stephen more about ah the incoming Leap Motor later on in the podcast. What are you driving this week, Paddy? I am in a Cooper Taviskan.
00:03:32
Speaker
Okay. Which is ah car that's curious in some ways. I love how it looks. and love And it's one of those ones where people have stopped me and gone, whoa, that's a really good looking car.
00:03:43
Speaker
Um... it's a very pretty thing. It's definitely one of the prettiest of the EV SUVs in my view anyway. and do you have dynamic chassis control? I do. very good.
00:03:55
Speaker
I do. and But ah yeah, small things have sort of bothered me. Like I didn't find a wireless charging pad on SM, just can't find it. and I think there is one. Is it below the spine thing?
00:04:07
Speaker
underneath again I tried maybe to reach around for it right okay have um and yeah as someone who drives from Dublin to Cork a lot you like to mention that right the adaptive chassis or Terry the adaptive cruise control I you can I can only increase the speed in units of one for some reason not tens no and is it haptics yes so sometimes you you might increase it by 30 without realising hmm So yeah, i'm im i'm I'm just, those are small things. But again, I'm early in my my
Rise of EVs & Market Shifts
00:04:39
Speaker
drive of it this week. I might have ah copped on a little bit better as I go later on. But um what about you? have you been in?
00:04:44
Speaker
Well, I've been in a ah few things, as per usual. um I've been in the Volkswagen Multivan, which I really enjoyed, actually. um I think I mentioned briefly last week on last week's episode, but I did obviously more driving since then. And yeah, I like it. It's a little bit expensive, but if you actually...
00:05:00
Speaker
ah Had a family of seven, then why wouldn't you buy something like that? like that I've been driving the state version, what do they call it? The Combi of the Skoda Superb. Natural diesel, PHV? Both, actually. I compared both.
00:05:14
Speaker
Wow. um The diesel had 1,200 kilometers when I got into it. The PHV had 600 kilometers. Wow. Yeah. Although the PHEV was that beautiful red. Not velvet red like you had before. was It was a different red. Yeah, it's like a... Biggins with C, I think.
00:05:30
Speaker
Oh, I can't remember. ah But yeah, I was looking at the spec of that as when you were jumping into it. It's a beautiful looking spec. and Nice wheels. Good looking car. Roof. Nice interior. They've got exp expensive, those Seko-Daziburbs. They have, they have. And then I was also ah briefly in the Alfa Romeo Abreta, which sounds like someone's ma's name.
00:05:49
Speaker
What is that now? it's It's, this is the thing. As if this car hasn't had a confusing birth as it is. was when we call it Milano, then they called it a Junior. But the electric version seems to be called a Junior, or is the Alfa Romeo Junior Abreta?
00:06:03
Speaker
It's spelled I-B-R-I-D-A. Right, so that's the hybrid. Correct. Mild hybrid. So it's hybrid is Ibrida. Yeah. In Italian. But Junior's gone from the, from what I can tell. Right, okay. Like, now I actually got to drive it in Mandela because, well, first of all, Alfa Romeo are 115 years old. Happy birthday, Alfa.
00:06:25
Speaker
Yeah, happy birthday to you. Long may you exist. And ah also they have sponsored that huge bridge in Mandela. Yes, I've seen photos of it. um It looks good.
00:06:36
Speaker
Looks very nice in red because it it just works. Matches nicely with the red and white strips on the side of the track. That's a good sponsorship. now that's Yeah, that's a lot of eyeballs. Yeah, it really is. So I actually drove that car around the track in Modelo quite a few times. I made the tyre squeal, I don't mind telling you.
00:06:52
Speaker
um It's also 250 kilos lighter than an electric version of the car. Was this car registered yet or Yes. was, okay. just Just gone. It's actually it's actually a 251 because we are now into 252 land.
00:07:03
Speaker
Video coming soon to now young cars? and There will be a video coming soon, yes, yes.
Tesla's Market Lead in Ireland
00:07:07
Speaker
I've been asked that quite a bit today already. but where When will i video be over? Just because I'll be asked as well. was like, all right, okay. No pressure. I was watching, as I do, your videos and and was watching the Honda Civic.
00:07:21
Speaker
Oh, yeah. good Good review. And car that you had a smile on your face driving that car. Yeah, it's it's a good car. Unfortunately, the price will take the smile off your face pretty quickly um because it's not far off 50 grand. There are two more affordable versions coming before the end of the year.
00:07:38
Speaker
and But you know what? like It's just a good... You're low down your seat. It's got go-kart handling, especially for what it is ah It again, the version I was in has this kind of, so we get slightly different power trains to the American market.
00:07:53
Speaker
So you have this kind of petrol engine topping up the generator that powers the wheels. So it has a combined 180, but the car itself I think is 140, but just good to drive.
00:08:05
Speaker
And you know what, it's nice to get into a car again. You know, There's so many SUVs, so many crossovers, and that's certainly from much... To get up rather than get into... Yeah, get down into a car.
00:08:17
Speaker
and And that's what came across in the video, was that you... you see And you you stressed the point. You said, look, if if i'm if you this is ah if you like driving, if you like getting out and driving on a Sunday and feeling that feeling of a proper car, then the Civic will do that.
00:08:34
Speaker
um And yeah, look, price aside, it's crazy expensive, hopefully the other ones will be better value and they won't sell in big numbers we grew up with civics being everywhere that's not going to be the case anymore but certainly one to consider i think if you want something that you know you'll hold on to for a while maybe you know it's it's probably um it's probably almost the last of a breed for now from from honda because and you know their their cars are diminishing that you're not seeing too many cars from them anymore No.
00:09:05
Speaker
um And the price is probably definitely a reason. I don't think the price is even exclusive to this part of the world. um They don't seem too bothered by the whole electric thing.
00:09:17
Speaker
ah Seem to be, again, quite a wealthy company. Are they more interested in making boat engines these days? I don't know. I don't know. Now, you do love figures, Paddy, as we've established in this podcast. ah it's It's now into 252.
00:09:30
Speaker
And what what are the what are the figures telling us? I do love a stat and the the June SIMI figures were unusual to say the least. How? Well with June 1st Tesla were the most popular brand in Ireland which is unusual in itself.
00:09:46
Speaker
They got a boatload of cars in. Pretty much yeah. 524 units registered ahead of Kia and Smart. So Smart registered 181 cars in june but
00:09:58
Speaker
Tesla were way ahead of of everyone else. Deliveries on Model 3, deliveries on Model Y. you know Tesla aren't known for, and I don't believe they have been up to any funny business pre-region or anything that. I'm pretty sure that these are all customer cars, but their delivery slots are kind of odd. So that's probably why You know, there their cars come at at odd months. It used to be in three-month
Popularity of PHEVs and Leap Motor's Innovations
00:10:22
Speaker
burst. I don't know if it still is a three-month window.
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not sure, but I think it does account for why we've suddenly seen all of these examples in June. or You know, you would wonder why people don't wait another month to register their car in July, but... I have to say, if I was buying a new car, it wouldn't bother me now 251 versus 252. It's still a 25. That's...
00:10:42
Speaker
it' still a two five No, 100%, but ah in three years' time when you bring it to, if you change your mind you bring it to another dealership... Would they really penalise you for the the two rather than the one? If they wanted to, if it suited the narrative, yes.
00:10:56
Speaker
It's ridiculous. Because, well, that's a two, five, you know, one in three years' time. It wouldn't necessarily happen in the main dealer themselves if you brought it back... But if you were going from, say Tesla to somewhere else, you could find that that would... I hope to correction on this, but I think that is pretty much still the case. It's another reason to boot you in the balls. Yeah. The smart one was funny. 181 in An 18,000% increase on June last year. 18,000. But, yeah, look, imagine, I mean...
00:11:20
Speaker
thousand percent increase on june of last year eighteen thousand and bo yeah look i imagine i mean Is there a new model? Is there... What's driving... Well, there was quite a big sale.
00:11:31
Speaker
um ah fire sale? of ah With some discounting on them. Now, I don't know whether the two are linked, but um certainly for the hashtag one model, there was some fairly damn big discounting happening on those. So maybe it's just a way of shifting units.
00:11:46
Speaker
But it what it what it did was, you know, it meant that there was a 75% increase in EV registrations in June of this year versus June of last year. That's a big jump. Now we get to year to date.
00:11:58
Speaker
The big winners actually are PHEVs, which are up 55%. EVs are up well about 27%. evis are um es are are rope as well but about twenty seven percent versus last year. um petrol is down diesel It's down That's a big drop.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yeah, it is. But but look, i mean, there's ah that's also what other brands not even selling diesel anymore. You know, Toyota, Peugeot now don't really sell a diesel, I think. and so So, you know, we are seeing a a big change. No change at the top models, though.
00:12:33
Speaker
Tucson still soldiers on. We've talked about that before. Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Yaris Cross. Well, the RAV4 is now the best selling car in the world. And a good car.
00:12:44
Speaker
Really good car. I love a PHEV RAV4. It's one of my favourite cars. It's been quite a few years since I drove that and even then the range was I think close to 100. I'm not really surprised PHEV are having a kind of a golden era right now because even compared to 3-4 years ago people often ask me about the 530E in the G30 model which is the last one and the 330E. At the time you know they were the car to get. The VRT was low.
00:13:08
Speaker
was one of the cars people were importing a lot of. But the the the actual real world range was maybe 40 kilometres. Now you're seeing 100, 120. And for a lot of people, that's you're not even charging your PHDV every day. It's every other day.
00:13:22
Speaker
That MG HS, which I really liked, um was a prime example of that. you know i I collected it from Dublin, drove down to Cork, obviously used petrol there. But then over the course of the week, I didn't go near petrol station.
00:13:37
Speaker
Is it delaying the inevitable, though, that we're all going to end up in electric? Well, yeah, it is, but I think it it gives that sense of security for people who just aren't quite ready yet or who, you know, have a job that maybe requires them, say, once a week to go to another site and they just don't want the hassle of it. if you You know, even if you consider this model that we're sitting in now, the Leap Motor c ten the PHEV version, or, are sorry, range extender
Impact of Chinese Automotive Brands
00:14:02
Speaker
version that they have because, you know, they're saying that the battery always powers the wheels. Yeah.
00:14:07
Speaker
There's promising a range, electric only range of 150 kilometers, which will make it one of the longest, if not the longest range on a PHEV currently, unless I'm missing something. And certainly in this side of the world, yes, I did drive a Great Wall Motor something last year and that was a 200 kilometer PHEV, again, which is, I think, quite normal in places like China.
00:14:32
Speaker
um There was one or two other weird ones. So Fiat were in the top 10 that you you you noticed and Suzuki were there as well. You wouldn't normally see them in top 10s. Free regging. Yeah, look, it happens. It's not a dirty thing, I suppose. It just happens. It happens. And you see you see it more and, you know, I understand it from the OEM world as well and that there's targets to be got. Yeah. um And there will be incentives given to dealers to reg cars. So, and you know, be it...
00:15:02
Speaker
be you know financial incentives or otherwise or bonuses so and the customer wins because they get a you know a barely used car I suppose as well yeah and you know there will be pressure to make to so to to hit numbers so so yeah that's why you will often see it especially um June June is a big one for that so and ah don't I haven't seen the exact figures in in terms of the split but we can only imagine that in those cases when you see unusual spikes it's probably a good chance that they've been and they've been pre-reg but look they end up with someone at some stage it's not like they set fire to them at the back and so so so some people might get you know a bit bent out of shape if if people are saying okay we were number one or number two if there's been a lot of pre-reg going on but otherwise it doesn't really matter you know they end up they end up somewhere
00:15:49
Speaker
ah Later on in this episode, we will be finding out more about Leap Motor. And for those of you listening who work in other brands, yes, this one's for you because ah you might find it. Now, look, Stephen is a clever guy. He's he's not going to give away his ah state secrets, perhaps, but yeah you'll find out a bit more. And equally, if you're just ah someone who has a genuine interest in cars, it's going to be another brand name that you're going to be hearing a lot of.
00:16:14
Speaker
I'd imagine on on media as well in the run up to this this product going on sale in September. So stay listening. You're going to find out more about Leap Motor Ireland coming soon.
00:16:24
Speaker
Welcome back to the Drivers Republic podcast, which is brought to you by Dundeele Motors, home of the Trusted Dealer Programme, helping you buy with confidence from verified dealerships. And Mark, we are in Gowan House.
00:16:36
Speaker
very um Very sunny Gowan House today. It's beautiful. Beautiful. But also there's lots of glass. So if you can imagine, it's a bit of a glass house in Gowan House. Yeah, it is. It's a bit of sweatbox. But am we are here to talk to... Sweatbox.
00:16:49
Speaker
Stephen McGrath. So, Stephen McGrath, an ex-colleague of mine. Stephen, nice to see you again. as Stephen is brand manager for a ah new brand coming to the Irish market called Leap Motor.
00:17:00
Speaker
Leap Motor or Leap Motors? This is it. So, everyone's kind of going through various iterations, but it's 100%. Leap Motor is the new brand coming to Ireland. Leap Motor. It's like Cadbury's. Everyone calls it Cadbury's, but it's Cadbury.
00:17:12
Speaker
Well, it's belonging to Cadbury. So that would be Cadbury's, no? My mom and my sister do it with Littles and Aldi's. yeah Littles and Aldi's. oh Tesco's?
00:17:25
Speaker
Tesco. you know Every little helps. People call it Tesco's though, don't they? available for it tesco Anyway, we digress. and Stephen, firstly... Talk to us about your career to date. I know we've worked together in the past, but talk us through your career in the
Stephen McGrath's Career Journey
00:17:39
Speaker
motor industry. I i guess and for me with the motor industry, was it was a bit of an evolution. So back in the day, I would have worked in finance and accounting.
00:17:46
Speaker
So I kind started with Accenture really back in the day. Then I worked for AIG for a bit and I went and traveled then for a year in Australia. And when I got back from Australia, there was a few jobs in finance and I ended up actually spotting one in MDL at the time who had the Volkswagen franchises and the other businesses.
00:18:06
Speaker
So ultimately, yeah, i said this kind of looks interesting. There's kind of something tangible at the end of the numbers basically. And ultimately, yeah, my job at the time was for kind of Audi, Skoda, VW to price the vehicles on behalf of MDL.
00:18:22
Speaker
and kind of, you know, look after margins, dealer margins, importer margins and pricing from the factory. So with that then we obviously moved over then, Volkswagen became an NSC and we ended up over at Livvy Valley where I worked with you and ultimately then that's where I kind of got more into the product and pricing side of the business.
00:18:43
Speaker
So I moved kind of from the kind of group supporting function down to brand level and there I kind of cut my teeth on kind of really getting into product pricing, negotiating and stuff like that. So I was with VW then for another few years there and then about nine years ago now I moved over to Gown Distributors as it was at the time ah now we're in Gown Auto as you were saying there.
00:19:08
Speaker
I've spent the last nine years here more or less and I've worked on the Peugeot brands, the DS brand obviously have been my my ones that I've recently worked on and there after that then obviously we've had a lot of acquisitions at the time. So back then with Gowns it was just Peugeot when I joined and now there is nine passenger car brands on the wall.
00:19:29
Speaker
So each one of them I was I guess orchestral in And then over the last 12 months, our group director, Mick Dwan, and our group business development manager, Paul Cregan, went over to SeaLeave Motor.
00:19:43
Speaker
And then, yeah, we started a project team. And here we are trying to launch Leave Motor in Ireland. but don't think there'll much trying in it So, Stephen, I only know you from the product side of things. Yeah. So is it a weird thing for a numbers guy to move into a product side?
00:19:57
Speaker
It is in a way, but in another way, i think when you work, especially in a distributor, it's very different to an NSC. You're exposed to a lot of the business and, you know, you kind of go across all areas, sales, marketing, training.
00:20:11
Speaker
And as a product manager, you're that conduit between, you know, the factory. So should you're you mean and then when you're working for an importer versus someone who's got a direct line the Exactly. So from that point of view, you get a very kind of broad spectrum of experience. And I guess, you know, from my time with the company,
00:20:31
Speaker
with all the acquisitions and working on these brands. And the first time around, this isn't the first time we've brought on a brand. you know From my point of view, DS obviously was brought on, but it was already in existence. So the project's very different compared to bringing on a brand that doesn't exist really in Europe. It's obviously in ramp up modes in a lot of countries.
00:20:49
Speaker
But for us, you know, it's it's definitely kind of new territory, very exciting in
Leap Motor's Product Development and Vertical Integration
00:20:55
Speaker
territory. there's There's a hell of a lot to do, but we have a very good structure here. And this is why Gown Auto came into being.
00:21:02
Speaker
And our new premises down in City West were here just over two years now. We have a great shared services division. So you kind of have your front end commercial teams on brand level.
00:21:14
Speaker
But then you have about 60 staff that we plug into to support the business on after sales, parts, warranty, customer care, etc., IT, t finance. So the structure is very much in place.
00:21:27
Speaker
And as I said, I started working on the project over a year ago. So myself and Mark Brennan have been kind of there from the start. And yeah, we've kind of learned a lot in the last 12 to 14 months. And you know each day we're we're learning as well. But we've got great support as well in the Opal team with James Brooks, the CEO, and Emma Toner, supporting us also from the Opal side. And they're both on the Leap Motor Project as well.
00:21:52
Speaker
So just on that note, James would have been a huge part of Kia Ireland for quite a few years. And and I suppose Kia have had phenomenal success in this country. James would have been part of that. ah He was originally back in Opel as well.
00:22:03
Speaker
He's also not a bad swimmer. I've seen him. And then Emma Toner as well, who has vast experience as... I think she started here 19 or 20 because she yeah she's still not old at all. No, not the slightest.
00:22:15
Speaker
So you are, for for other brands who who are listening and particularly maybe, you know, fresh with a a Chinese product, you guys are people wise really, you're not messing around. No. and One thing I've noticed, and and this is what keeps on coming up time and time again, is Chinese speed.
00:22:31
Speaker
And the speed that these guys operate at is at a level that I've never seen before. Like I'm almost 20 years in the motor industry now, and a good lot of that has been with product and watching product timelines and stuff like that.
00:22:44
Speaker
And i've've I've genuinely never seen anything like it. Like this time last year, When we started the project, there was the T03 and then there was just the C10 424 kilometer version.
00:22:55
Speaker
Four models, four sorry, paratrains appeared within six months. I've never seen that happen before. a new model B10, which is coming later in the year, which we can talk about in a bit. Again, that's appeared and now there's going to be six models in total in the space of just two to three
Partnership with Stellantis for Global Expansion
00:23:10
Speaker
years. How do they do it?
00:23:11
Speaker
Well, in the case of Leap Motor, the way they can do it is that they have a really good level of vertical integration. So they're kind of designing from the bottom up. So in a way, I guess they can look at what's happened with other OEMs. They have experience in China from the joint ventures that, you know,
00:23:27
Speaker
Volkswagen and these other groups and future themselves were in there as well. and So I think they've taken all the learnings, but it's just the speed is phenomenal. But I do think it's down to that level of vertical integration and being able to own the entire supply chain.
00:23:42
Speaker
And Leap Motor, you know, are are pretty good with that. You know, they've got their their architecture around um the cell to chassis um technology that's there.
00:23:53
Speaker
And then with that, again, they've they've got all cooled and systems for the electric engines. And then they've also got this 4-in-1 architecture that is agile, it's flexible, it's scalable.
00:24:04
Speaker
And that's the difference, I believe. Just take us back though ah step in terms of introducing the brand. you know When did the brand start up? is it How long has it been going? And and and give us an idea then of of um what the first offerings will be.
00:24:19
Speaker
Yeah, okay. So I guess looking at the brand and going back, like you're only going back to 2015 when the actual company came into an existence. 2017, they start building the plant in China.
00:24:32
Speaker
And by 2019, they were producing cars. So again, there's that kind of scale that I haven't seen ever before. And then ultimately they kind of started ramping up up their production and they got cars out to market. So then in 2023, they had the commercial discussions with Stellantis.
00:24:51
Speaker
And then between them and Stellantis, they identified as a good partnership for growing the business globally. But at the same time, then Leap Motor International came into existence. So that's where Stellantis have a 51% stake in Leap Motor International, which is based in Milan.
Challenges for New Market Entrants
00:25:06
Speaker
And they're rolling out the global kind of scale of the business from there. And then literally then, two more years later, month ago, we became involved and Gain Auto signed the contract with Leap Motor International.
00:25:19
Speaker
So they went from, i think, 1,000 cars in 2019, and they'll produce over half a million this year. Would you go as far as saying if you don't have a Chinese automotive product in your catalogue, you're doomed?
00:25:36
Speaker
I wouldn't go as far as doomed. it I don't think the guys, you know, the traditional OEMs as we know them will disappear. Do they have to change and adapt? They certainly do. Jim Ferdy from Ford was saying yesterday that, you know, Ford are humbled by what the Chinese are capable of and they need to really get their act together in order not to kind of be doomed as you say. yeah So ultimately no but for us as a distributor you know these guys are coming to the market and we definitely want to be part of that and that's why the strategic decision was made. You know we're not about cannibalizing sales of our other brands you know such as Opal, Citroen,
00:26:17
Speaker
Peugeot, but ultimately it's about trying to kind of offer those can consult consumers who want to change or who want something different and we've a lot available for them. But a new entrant will have to be Conquest.
00:26:29
Speaker
To a degree, yeah. So you're going to, it's inevitable, you're going to take customers from... either within this building or externally. For us at the minute, we're hoping to, you know, like our our benchmarks are the likes of BYD and MG. So that's the sphere we're operating in.
00:26:48
Speaker
So like, you know, for us, that's, you know, where we're focusing towards, but there will be some level of natural you know move over. I don't think you can get away from that, but for a lot of people that they're very happy and especially say Peugeot, which is my big background, you know a lot of our dealer network, you know they're family businesses that are there a long, long time and customers will go back to them time and time again, because they trust the product and their dealer.
00:27:15
Speaker
They make good looking cars. good looking girls What a good way to not fret about having Chinese rivals by having one a Chinese brand in house. I mean, it's if you can't beat them, join them. Absolutely. Well, definitely.
00:27:26
Speaker
It makes you know financial business sense to to do that. um And we were talking about it before we we hit record today. You know, if um ah Irish consumers, you've obviously done a lot of research into the market now. And, you know, what will it take to get an Irish customer to to leave the brand they've been with for maybe three four cycles of a PCB?
Leap Motor's Market Entry Strategy in Ireland
00:27:48
Speaker
Well, I think in a way, you know, um as you say, we were chatting about this earlier that, you know, when people are tied into BCP, they might be aware that they can leave. You know, it's kind of like when we all get stuck with the one electricity supplier and they're saying you should try and change every time. And maybe that's the message that we need to get out there as a brand now to say, you know, you don't necessarily have to stay there. You can come to Leap Motor. We have options for you and very competitive options like that.
00:28:11
Speaker
So I think it's a kind of education piece to a degree. And yeah, I think that'll kind of help kind of people shift. But also as we've known Irish consumers say compared to the car market next door in the UK, you know, Irish consumers are actually quite good at adopting new brands, you know, like 20 years ago, where it was Kia, where was Hyundai, you know, look at today and it it can change and it can change very quickly. And to be fair, with due respect to them, like BYD have made a huge success the last couple of years. So I think for Leap Motor, we've got something that we can offer.
00:28:43
Speaker
you know, the cake is the same size. There's there's no denying that, but, you know, we'll get our slice. I don't think you would have wanted to have been first coming to market with, you know, an unknown brand. But I think, you know, my view anyway is that there is a, there's a wave of new brands coming in. So the concept of a new brand for the Irish consumer isn't that weird now because they've seen so many coming in and they're going, okay, they're getting around these new names, but they're seeing value, they're seeing good spec, they're seeing you know good reviews from the likes of Mark.
00:29:13
Speaker
so Thanks, buddy. Don't say that. it's it's that is That, I think, is one reason why you can approach the arrival of a new brand with less trepidation than you might have, say, five years ago. Exactly.
00:29:25
Speaker
And in a way, it gives us a bit of confidence with LeapMosier, even more confidence, I guess, you know, as... a I was saying the second mouse gets the cheese. So, you know, from that point of view, we can look at the new behaviors that are in the market, you know, what works for people, what doesn't. And for us as well, we believe our strength is actually being part of Gown Group, you know, and Gown Auto, because we do have a network that people know and trust. We've got brands that have been in Ireland a long, long time.
00:29:52
Speaker
Peugeot's like 55 years with Gain Group. So for us then, that's our kind of access to market. And that's Stellantis' preferred access as well because you can quite quickly scale up.
00:30:03
Speaker
Like there's already 600 sites in Europe alone for Leap Motor. That was in 2024. There's supposed to be up to 700 at the end of this year and then over 1,500 globally.
00:30:15
Speaker
So they have very quick access to market. And for us with Leap Motor, it should help with success.
Overview of Leap Motor's T03 and C10 Models
00:30:22
Speaker
So we're sitting here looking out the window at two models, two new models, which we've had a look around earlier on. So the T03 and the C10. So talk us through both, if you like, the T03 initially. for for I know we we're on audio only, but describe the the new model for those people. So the T03, we've got a lovely blue one outside there. um It's a city car, basically.
00:30:44
Speaker
But... Looking at the value and spec in this, we don't have pricing available just yet. this These will be announced in autumn, as I was saying to you earlier, but ultimately, it's um my expectation for this vehicle is it's going to be the best value BEV on the market in Ireland.
00:30:59
Speaker
The quality is absolutely phenomenal. we two of our tech guys go out and do training there a while ago, and they came back and they were genuinely blown away. you They kind of managed to come back and get everybody else here even more excited about the products because they just couldn't believe how well they are produced and the quality is up there with brands that you would pay 10 to 15 grand more for a car similar in size maybe. So value doesn't necessarily mean cheapest, it means you know this is it ah equipment, range, battery size, etc. And that's not our you know value proposition, it's it's definitely not to be cheap, it's it's it' it's you know ultimately
00:31:34
Speaker
put on value proposition but it is to offer value to customers obviously it's a reasonably small segment in general and Irish customers don't really flock to small cars and and you know be eevee within that initially is quite small but Obviously a growing segment potentially so a big area for growth.
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah huge area and that's what we're seeing like and to be fair as we were chatting earlier The Dasha Spring and the Inster have been making huge huge headway But for us with the T03 it's just the level of spec that's on the vehicle like Sunroof is inch allies voice assistant dau adaptive cruise control lane keep assist You know, 10-inch infotainment screen, you name it, it has it. I've never seen a car at this price point or of this size with so much.
00:32:22
Speaker
The packaging is very clever as well. i mean, I'm pretty tall and I was able to sit in the back comfortably enough. um And, you know, it's it's it's it's a really clever use of space in the car. So... um Yeah, impressive. And and probably obviously like a range of potential customers for that from exactly empty nesters to to people starting off. And that's what we've been discussing and and um we've identified, you know and especially following, you know, successive years of huge price increases in the Irish motor and ah market and globally as well. You know, you're talking cars kind of went up 25% from pre-COVID levels. So we've got something here now that is definitely affordable.
Innovative Range Extender Technology
00:32:58
Speaker
And again, as you say, you know, empty nesters or that first car for somebody, you know, coming into the market who doesn't need to kind of travel huge distances. But, you know, it's it's definitely got its place. And then moving on to the C10, which is, in your own words, it's a D-segment car. Yeah.
00:33:15
Speaker
But it won't have that price tag. But just looking at it, and i mean like it's got a really strong shoulder lying the whole way down the car. It's got a, you know, reasonably decent front nose on it. I love the back of it. The interior, there's a kind of a tan or cognac, you might call it leather.
00:33:28
Speaker
Reminds me, the interior reminds me of the Xpeng G6 for people that have seen that car. And I was just saying, like there's two people in my estate now that have bought them. Both grey, for whatever reason, because we just love grey cars.
00:33:39
Speaker
But sitting into the C10, I mean, the quality of it strikes you straight away. yeah um And the space, like you were saying, Paddy, you're whatever, The front seat's back the whole way. Yeah.
00:33:54
Speaker
And I was, I had considerable knee room. I felt it was kind of a Skoda superb space in the back. um And I really like this color combination that you have. Obviously, you can't see it. It's a green, what you say? Very dark emerald green. Yeah, emerald green. Emerald green and a brown leather, well, I'm sure there's a cognac or something like that. What's your name for it? But if that was a colour combo on a Lexus, no would blink an eye.
00:34:16
Speaker
No, it looks really good. It really looks does look like does are good it's it's It's nice, but it's the kind of quality of the seats and and it's just the kind of comfort in the car. Like it's going to come now, and as i was saying earlier on, you know, this time last year, just one pair train, 424 kilometres range.
00:34:31
Speaker
But since then, we've got another BEV that's going to be an all-wheel drive. There's just under 500 kilometers of range in that. And then we've got a 525 kilometer version coming also. But on top of that, and this is where Leap Motor is making a lot of sense for us, and you know we we believe there's a huge opportunity, is we have what's called a range extender. So it's an RE-EV.
00:34:53
Speaker
And ultimately to me what the range extender is, it operates quite like a PHEV, but this one has 150 kilometers of range, which I believe is market leading. I think the nearest is the with the 125.
00:35:05
Speaker
So we're right up there. um The overall total range will be over 950 kilometers, but the difference is the power train in it, the battery will always turn the wheels. So there's a 1.5 liter petrol motor in there.
00:35:16
Speaker
petrol motor in there And that will literally generate the electricity for the battery, which will then turn the wheels. And it just creates a very, very nice, comfortable, smooth drive. But especially when you're sitting on those lovely.
00:35:31
Speaker
You're cutting down on friction, I suppose. and yeah making this That's always a good thing. So him that that always works in the background or you use that as in, I need to get to West Cork versus East Cork. So I'm going to turn this petrol engine on now.
00:35:45
Speaker
and And again, you can you you can decide, you know, like the the tech in the car, you know, do you need to save a bit, you know, for whatever reason you might want to, or, you know, you can literally manage everything from that central screen to whatever way you want. So if you want to say, I'm going to save 20% to drive on what was left in my, you know, plug-in battery, yeah then I can do that. But ultimately, yeah, it's kind of customer choice there as well.
Leap Motor's Expansion Plans and Model Offerings
00:36:12
Speaker
And which room do you think there is in Ireland or indeed the UK for Chinese brands? And many more are we going to see? Well, this is it. Like what we're looking at is they're coming, they're coming fast. There's another three or four, I'd say, that are at least probably going to arrive in the next two years. But if you go and look at China, you know, there's there's probably another 20 brands there at the minute who are reasonable contenders. But as as you know you guys know, the market is just insanely big over there. You know, we were just looking at the figures there for...
00:36:41
Speaker
April and May. And Leap Motor was actually in second position. But BYD were up there with 323,000 units, which, you know, for us is mind-blowing. You know, it's three years the market. Three years of car sales, yeah. And that's one month for these guys. So, you know, from that point of view, it's, you know, it's huge.
00:37:02
Speaker
There is a lot coming, but they all can't come either. You know, that there is going to be But like, I guess, the consolidation of the airline industry and stuff over the time. I believe you will see that consolidation in China, especially, you know, certain ones that might be state owned or semi-state. They might join those together as well.
00:37:19
Speaker
meant be some natural selection at some stage as well in terms of yeah you know the survival of the fittest really. But and what strikes me as well is that as the speed that these brands can produce new models yeah from from conception to development to execution. It's crazy. It's it's it's it's it's absolutely mind-blowing, Hattie. Like, as I said, you know weve we've got more or less the two new models that are sitting outside. We've got the B10 coming, which was due in Q4 at the end of the year, and they've started producing it early already. So...
00:37:49
Speaker
normally know traditionally you're on the other end where you're waiting for cars to kind of get produced but these guys seem to kind of flip it once they spot an opportunity in the market unlike you know that adoption of phv in europe this year they were like okay range extenders straight into europe so you know And on top of that then Lead Motor we've got the B10 coming which is going to be a C SUV sized. Obviously the C10 is D SUV and then we've got a B hatch, a C hatch and a B SUV coming. So within the space of three years Lead Motor will have six segments in which to operate.
00:38:21
Speaker
So for people, you know, to give them an idea of scale, in terms of c ten would you equate that to something like a Volkswagen Tiguan in terms of size or roughly? It's much bigger. Like, it's as I said, it's it's kind of DSEG. So, you know, it's definitely much bigger than your kind of traditional, your Qashqais and stuff like this. yeah um And as you saw your yourself. So more like It's Kodiak. Definitely, without a shadow of a doubt. And again, as you saw, the space and inside it is phenomenal. The wheelbase is over 2.7 meters and you know huge boot space. But I think the thing that really kind of blew us was just that level of spec. Like the sunroof is standard. You've got your electric tailgate you've got your tech on board you know there's literally a sensor and a monitor for absolutely everything and thankfully you can turn them off in this new world of gsrv2 it's killed everyone so not so much and then there's a camp mode in it so yeah you you literally hit the button you take off the headrests and the seats fold fully flat inside those also a nap mode as well in case you need to pull in on the side of the motorway and it'll good for roadta play a bit of rain and the thunder kind of bangs and but ah again the safety element's built in it'll make sure your car is locked and no one can access it while you're in and it's literally like they think of absolutely everything but I think outside that it's probably the upper trim level which is going to be our design so we've installed the design but if you go up to the design you get those leather seats that you saw and that they're vegan leather but they're they're super soft I really can't tell the difference between them and
00:39:52
Speaker
your kind of regular standard level leather, but they're air-cooled, you know, air-heated.
Attracting Irish Consumers with Value Proposition
00:39:57
Speaker
And then on top of that, you've got your electric tailgate, 20-inch wheels, um heated windshield, heated steering wheel.
00:40:05
Speaker
So if you compare it to other brands that are out there, even their top trim levels, you'd have to add optional extras on. So we're saying for our upper trim level, it'll probably cost about one and a half grand between the two trim levels, but you're going to have spec that's well worth well over €3,000.
00:40:22
Speaker
And is that key to, I suppose, at least getting people to have a look at these cars, I think? Yeah, I think you're offering customers the nth degree. But again, it's it's safety as well. And, you know, a lot of traditional manufacturers have moved away from that, what they call race to the bottom as far as NCAP goes. But, you know, these cars have five star NCAP ratings. And think that's important to communicate to customers because, you know, especially for something like the you know, family car, you want to know that everyone's going to be safe in it. And it's reduced to a standard that we're used to in Europe.
00:40:53
Speaker
It's funny how the onset of you know electric vehicles in general, but also some of these newer brands coming in, has totally flipped how specification is dealt with in the Irish market. I mean, we grew up being so used to wind windows windy windows, hubcaps, and everything being... so like The fact that VRT is thankfully low on these vehicles...
00:41:16
Speaker
and because they're EVs, we're now seeing fully loaded vehicles yeah coming on the market, which I think is nothing but benefit. As long as they don't change it to weight. Yeah, true. true Which they won't. The Irish government, start takes them too long even take these things. Don't say it out loud. They might be listening. Please don't. We haven't gotten to the budget yet.
00:41:35
Speaker
and Sorry, the b just before we finish on the B, the B in size is slightly sub, so the sort of cash guy. Exactly. it's It's literally pretty close in size to that. So again, you've kind of got now your C SUV.
00:41:49
Speaker
And again, as I said, extremely competitive. And we're just getting early signs of the spec on it. But again, like, you know, electric seats are standard. All very similar to the kind of levels that they're offering on C10, just in that kind smaller segment, different kind of interior colors. There's a kind of nice black interior and that is an off-gray with the leather seats, which is kind it looks really good so far in picture. Obviously we haven't seen it yet in person, but it would also come in a BB range, I think at about 480 kilometers.
00:42:18
Speaker
And then the range extender is going to appear on that. So as I said, just considering the growth, you know, PHEV is now of the same size as electric in Ireland at the minute. And if that trajectory continues, you know, say we get up to 50% for both, you know, powertrains next year or closer, it puts us in a very good position to operate in, you know, a lot of the market.
00:42:37
Speaker
Do you think it's weird for the overlords at Stellantis, for example, they have got Alfa Romeo in this corner and they've got Leap Motor in this corner. How do you give all the brands the same amount of loving or is it possible?
00:42:49
Speaker
Well, again, like there's there's a lot of kind of powerhouses in the world, like myself and Paddy's old, old stomping ground of Volkswagen, you know, they have a lot of brands there as well. Again not very samey though of them are You can strip them back You know Like a Golf is an A3 Yeah Superb is something else So it is little bit different It but for Stellantis, to me it makes absolute sense. If we're going back to what the CEO of Ford was saying there yesterday, you know they're worried about this onslaught. But if Stellantis have gone in with a joint venture with Lead Motor International, there's obviously going to be synergies in there for both. Lead Motor get to access markets very quickly, and then Stellantis gets access to technology very quickly that it doesn't have to grow in-house as fast.
Adapting to Market Dynamics and Consumer Expectations
00:43:33
Speaker
Do you know know I was thinking about that this week though I'm driving a Cooper Taviskan and you know I was thinking okay this it doesn't have you know wireless charging it doesn't have you know the adaptive cruise control it and you can't go up in increments of 10 little things like that and I was thinking you know what most customers don't go and try 46 different models. They might go, okay, I like the look of that.
00:43:58
Speaker
I'm going for that. So, you know, the whole, there's so many brands competing with each other. Reversing at the other end, the consumer maybe only looks at two or three i in the process. And on consumer behavior shows most of actually, you know, they' they've made that mind up. They've spent most of the time online checking what they want. And then they're down to that two or three. So that's where you have to be pretty good with your your online experiences as well and just kind of watch for too much noise I find a lot of brands just you know you can click onto their website it's very cumbersome people just want to know what's my spec what does it cost to me and you know to try and get that out quite quickly so we'll be launching our website now in about two weeks time and it's nice and flat it's very easy to use and yeah and I think you know if you can kind of break through the noise that's out there and there's a lot there's a lot of brands um but I think if you've got something of value it should work
00:44:51
Speaker
What are your peers asking you about this new product? As in, are my peers in Gain Auto? Yeah, or you know just there other car people, or or maybe even just friends who are talking about, how's work, you know? In general, people just want to know. like ah Quality doesn't seem to be a question. I think we've moved on from what China produced now versus, you know say, 20, 30 years ago. like but China's changed a lot. you know I've been out there in a personal capacity, and...
00:45:18
Speaker
It's mind-blown. i've I've never seen anywhere quite like it and You know, I don't think that's the kind of issue. I think price is a big one now price has been a huge one the last few years Yeah, um and even be once by the time it was range lately I'm finding I don't know what you guys are the same but a lot of people are more concerned about charging when they're out and about and Even at that there's probably an education piece that needs to be done because in reality, you know You should be doing most your charging at home. I got long journeys are a bit different but You know, i find that that's where the stumbling block is to a large degree, but I'm hoping this is where kind of this PHEV uptake will kind of encourage people to go, actually, you know what, if I can do it on my car and it has 150 kilometers range, you know, and I can charge that every night or two, yeah, um it's going to be no issue to charge a BEV for a week.
Irish Consumer Attitudes Towards EVs
00:46:06
Speaker
I wonder is it fair to to kind of sum up what's happening, what's coming from China as, and you you have to involve cars here, so kind of confuses the analogy. But years ago, we had Superquin and we had Tesco and we had Duns.
00:46:17
Speaker
And then the Germans arrived and suddenly there was nice cars also in Aldi and also in Lidl. And it was just a case of, again, people were like, well, I can get this yogurt for two euro or four euro and it's the same yogurt.
00:46:29
Speaker
Or in this case, it actually, ah the yogurt might have more spec on it for less money. Exactly. um Is that a fair... I think I caught all of that. Does your yogurt have air-cooled seats? Yeah, exactly. Does your yogurt have air-cooled seats?
00:46:41
Speaker
How far can this yogurt go? yeah Exactly. get from that point of view. And, you know, there's certain people, like ive I have a friend of mine, her mom would, you know, only shop at Supercruel and she wouldn't shop anywhere else because she doesn't want to be seen shopping anywhere else. And she wouldn't shop in Little Oralty.
00:46:56
Speaker
But as we've seen with the success of Little Oralty, you know, so many people now are just like, yeah, i'll I'll go there. And I think even... generation next, you know, these next generation are upcoming and buying cars.
00:47:07
Speaker
They are going to be less kind of... Brand loyal. In that way, because at the end of the day, there's certain things that work for them. One, obviously, especially in the modern Ireland we live in and and Europe at the minute, you know, price is a big thing for people. So, you know, stuff where they can be offered value, but also as well, you know, especially when around electric driving, there is a concern of of sustainability and kind of going down that route. And, you know, and even the likes now where...
00:47:33
Speaker
I don't think any of these brands coming from China, like they're all vegan leather. No one's kind of gone down the route of traditional leather because it's just not a done thing anymore. Yeah, you can get it in a Range Rover. think that's about it. Yeah, very few.
00:47:45
Speaker
I did want to ask you, as someone who has been... at the very early days of EV arrivals into Ireland, back from, you know, e-golf, think, at one stage, and and then obviously through Peugeot and up now to Leap Motors.
00:48:00
Speaker
What's your view on where the Irish market is ah Like, we know all the figures or whatever, where the attitude is of the Irish market towards EVs you know ah early on it was ah the very early adopters is there still an education piece do you think in some areas personally I do like the amount of people I i meet and friends be like oh I don't know whether I could drive EV and you're kind of like why wouldn't you And I think it's been proven, like a lot of the surveys that have come back the last couple of years, you know, those who drive EV, you know, 90 odd percent say they would never go back to combustion.
00:48:31
Speaker
I'm driving full EV myself now the last three to four years. And yeah, I'd never go back. It's, it's, it's, and it's again, because you know, you know, you live it, you experience it. It's like what we told all our our dealers in the future network, you know, you have to live electric to be able to sell it to your customers. And we're going down the same route now when we have our dealer network for Elite Motor.
EV Market Evolution and Consumer Trends
00:48:50
Speaker
you know, you have to be able to kind of live it to be able to sell it. And um again, it's it's kind of, it is, there's still definitely a good bit of education that needs to be done around it, but that early majority has definitely stalled. And that kind of stalled after COVID. It's grown a bit now. It's kind of a bit more tentative. I think the fact that there was a whole bit of fear around residual prices on secondhand electric vehicles, and and I think that's kind of abated a bit now.
00:49:19
Speaker
And people have a bit more confidence to say they would. i think i think it has. I mean, pricing was, no no one really knew how to price them initially. And and obviously they weren't, they were expensive, technology got cheaper. But initially, you know, the EVs were hugely expensive. And that's when you consider that the grants at the time were massive and have only got smaller. and But the grants only benefit the people making the cars.
00:49:43
Speaker
Like, I'm definitely starting to err on the side of, i I don't think our tax money should be going to people to be able to buy electric car because it possibly inflates. It's a bit like the help to buy for houses.
00:49:55
Speaker
that People will always say Well that just pushes the price up the Grant also technically pushes the price up I get you to a degree But didn't they switch it off in the UK completely And the market died very quickly that time And also This will make them cheaper ah At the early stages of someone who's ex-Volkswagen, at the early stages of and the EV journey, it was the Tiguan's that were paying for the... yeah it was the just Obviously, the the ev the green people didn't like... you know They were saying, oh, we want to see more EVs. But it was the it was Volkswagen's push to sell more SUVs at the time, which paid for.
00:50:31
Speaker
the development of the EV and that they, initially they were making no money on the, on the EV. So, um so yeah, it's, it's, it's funny to see, you know, it's funny to see that, and you know, we're at a stage where they're, they're certainly more, what more mainstream. Yeah. But,
00:50:47
Speaker
ah you know I'm just curious as to the attitude of of people. I think there is more to be done. you know Yeah, there's definitely more to be done. I think you know it's it's probably going to take a bit longer. There is a bit of a pushback, you know, where it's kind of Trumpism and stuff like this and it just feeds into local markets or nervousness around what he's kind of done with tariffs and stuff recently. But...
00:51:08
Speaker
You know, I think it's going to take a bit longer than we initially anticipated. I actually, you know, if you had asked me six years ago, I'd be like, oh, yeah, and we'd be up to 50% penetration now, and we're we're not near that.
00:51:19
Speaker
But I do believe by 2030, we're going to get much closer. It just depends on what happens, you know, around legislation, consumer behaviour. But if you kind of look at the minute, you know, like look at Southern Europe right now, or Central Europe even, the place is burning up, and we we can't keep on burning No, and look, you can see, like, the tails the scales will tip. Diesel sales are obviously consistently falling. and My own stories, like, my parents are on their second electric car now. My wife has an electric car. And I'd agree with the whole 90-odd, don't go back. Like, why would you go back? um
00:51:53
Speaker
Unless you've had a horrendous experience where you're you're a sales rep and you need to do 400 or 500 kilometers every day and you are relying on the public network, i don't see I don't
Leap Motor's Sustainability Initiatives
00:52:02
Speaker
see the negatives. I mean, okay, you can add in, now being my petrol head side, okay, the driving dynamics currently not always as good. The car weighs more stuff like that. A lot people, they don't buy a car. It's a mobility solution. They don't care about the handling, really.
00:52:16
Speaker
and And I totally agree with you. you know At the end of the day, there's there's certain stuff that is important to petrol heads like brake horsepower and some Brake feel. Some consumers are buying the car because it's emerald green and that that's it, you know? Yeah.
00:52:28
Speaker
It's funny. i don't know if you you've seen the video gone doing the rounds from that advertising guru, Rory Sutherland, you know, the sort of portly English advertising guru who was talking about ah the fact, you know, he likes electric cars and he was saying, imagine if you were trying to pitch the idea of combustion engines if electric cars had come first.
00:52:50
Speaker
yeah So if you were saying, right, we have this new a concept, it's called, you know, petrol. and yeah you know you have to mine it. You've got to pay €1.70 for a litre of it. Exactly. and The engines have 120 moving parts, and are incredibly complicated to develop, and are small percentage efficient, and you know cost a lot to repair.
00:53:15
Speaker
You'll be laughed out of it. But the fact that you know we've gone the other way, and you know it's harder to explain the EV concept to people, even though you know conceptually it's a lot it's a lot simpler. Yeah, it's a good way looking at it. Yeah, but the irony of that as well, was just, it came up on LinkedIn yesterday, you know, one of these posts from New York in the early 1900s and all the taxis were plugged in. So in a way that... Yeah, no, it has gone full circle. Yeah, it really has. Apart from the horse and cart.
00:53:41
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's true. um And emissions-wise, and as you say, just to to keep on doing things that we clearly can tell are not good for the planet kind of seems mad.
00:53:51
Speaker
Look, it has to be said, producing new cars is also obviously not good for the planet, but think a lot of brands more than ever, like ah i'm very impressed with what Renault are doing, for example, a lot of their new EVs, every part of the car within reason, I suppose, logistically-wise can be, you know, within a 300-kilometre radius of the factory to try and, again, cut down on ah cost Because as I ah presume brands want to practice what they preach. If you're going sell an electric car, the production process should be as green as possible. Exactly. And I know, one and obviously, Leap Motor is kind of sustainability is is one of their pillars. But, you know, Stellantis kind of have now, you know, the reconditioning of parts and...
00:54:27
Speaker
you know, try to reduce packaging, all that kind of stuff, because again, as we were saying, that there's there's no real choice in the matter. But for consumers, regardless, you know, for the planet, obviously, it's the number one importance, but for a lot of consumers now, it is important, and that can be a differentiator between you and another brand.
Establishing Presence in the Irish Market
00:54:44
Speaker
But I think the thing about BEVs as well, as you're saying, you know, with less moving parts, you know, technically the vehicles should last longer. And then something that's designed like what we see outside is those over-the-air updates, you know, the car can be constantly up-to-date without ever having to go into a garage and, you know, give the customers that next level of experience for as long as possible and and much longer than the traditional lifespan of a vehicle.
00:55:08
Speaker
Talk us through some of the um practicalities for anyone listening about Leap Motor. So in terms of timelines, you know, I know you said the website's a little bit away, but and when can they expect to see them, test drive them, you know, are they coming to market? So our goal now is is autumn. So we're in discussions now and we're rolling out our dealer network over the next few weeks. and We'll have a press launch now in September as well.
00:55:33
Speaker
So I'd say all going well. October we'll have, you know, 10 good locations around Ireland that covers the majority of BV driving and obviously a lot of PHDV driving and customers will get in there and ultimately we'll have a couple of locations in Dublin, Cork and then the kind of major population centres around ireland And then as we go into 2026 then we'll kind of fill in the gaps there and you know look for more opportunities.
00:56:00
Speaker
And internally have you guys planned for this to kind of be a 261 car? Oh yeah that's 100% the plan. Obviously you'll sell someone a 252 if they want. but but We've no choice I've already ordered the showroom stock so I'll be in trouble with the accountants unless we do sell them. so Yeah, we started at our production plan is in place and we've got strong production coming through. That's built up from September.
00:56:23
Speaker
I've ordered a batch cars from July, which will land in September for that initial dealer kind launch in October. And yeah, we'll ramp up and hopefully go in for a ah very successful 261. And marketing is not really your department, but how how do you think the guys are going to stand out in the Irish market?
00:56:39
Speaker
Again, this is the good thing, as we were saying now before, we have bit of a blank canvas. So, you know, do we have to go down the traditional routes that everyone's gone? Or, you know, we're we're kind of trying to look and see where's the best bang for buck. You know, obviously as a new brand as well, you you want to c cut through all the noise.
00:56:55
Speaker
So we're just trying to identify, you know, each segment and who our potential buyers are and what's the best channel to kind of get them on. So our marketing and team are working away on the marketing campaign and social media plan for the next few months. But as I said, the website will be up and running in two weeks' time.
00:57:14
Speaker
Okay. A lot going on. It's busy. Good experience for you personally as well, though. so yeah Like, a way, we're absolutely delighted. Like, I've never... like had the opportunity to do this, but not many people get this opportunity. So, you know, to bring a brand from scratch, I don't know many people who've done this, you
Leap Motor's Strategy and Market Impact
00:57:34
Speaker
know? So and a way it's a learning curve for us to a degree, but as I said, we do have the experience, especially in Gown Auto bringing so much on in such a short time, like, you know, just seven, eight short years ago, it was just Peugeot, you know? And now, as I said, there's, there's nine brands and an extra, you know, commercial brand in the world. So there's 10 brands in house,
00:57:54
Speaker
So that's the kind of strength that we lean on. And as I said, you know, hell of a lot of experience in the building. um As you mentioned, you know, Emma earlier on and James is there as well. But the guys on the team are are really, really strong. We've got Yvonne who's joined us as from from Tesla there.
00:58:09
Speaker
She's our new business developer manager. Then we've got Mark as well. And then that extra support that we have through all the shared services functions in Gann Auto. you mightn't be able to say much on it now, but will the dealers generally be alongside one of the nine passenger brands that you have here.
00:58:29
Speaker
The quickest route for us to get to market is to go through existing Stellantis, you know, house dealers. So ultimately, yeah, that is the goal and that's the quickest way we can do it. And that's how they've been able to get to you know, 700 dealerships by the end of this year in such a short space of time. If you think, you know, it's only 2023 that the JV in Europe kind of happened. So it's a pretty good goal.
00:58:52
Speaker
Okay, well, Stephen, best of luck with it. Cheers, guys. Thanks, William. Sounds like you guys know what you're doing. We
Sponsor Acknowledgement and Closing
00:58:57
Speaker
definitely do. Thanks for joining us, Stephen. Cheers, guys. Well, this episode of Drivers Public Podcast has been brought to you mainly inside a brand new Leap Motor C10 coming soon.
00:59:08
Speaker
Paddy, we must thank some kind people. Yes, exactly. This episode was brought to you in association with Dundee Motors, where more Irish drivers find their next car from a trusted dealership than anywhere else. Why?
00:59:19
Speaker
Because Dundee's Trusted Dealer Programme means verified dealerships and the kind of backup that matters, like warranties and history checks, giving you confidence from your very first click. On the next episode, I will have been sleeping in a Volkswagen California at Hidden Valley in Wicklow with a six-year-old.
00:59:36
Speaker
And do you know what? I will also probably have been as well because oh yeah I'm in right after you. Well, I'll change the sheets. yeah Yeah, exactly. It's the least I can do. Open the windows. See you then.