Leapmotor in Switzerland: What's the catch?
Emil Frey has been the official Swiss importer for the Chinese brand Leapmotor since the beginning of the year. The recipe for success is said to lie in the consistent focus on the aftersales area.
At the beginning of 2025, the Chinese brand Leapmotor in Switzerland with the support of Stellantis, which holds a 20 percent stake in the brand, and imported by the Emil Frey Group. In doing so, the group aims to build on the pioneering role it already played with the successful import of Japanese and later Korean manufacturers.
Leapmotor is not the first Chinese brand to try its hand in Switzerland. None of them have yet achieved a major breakthrough. So why Leapmotor? Swiss brand manager Patrick von Bachellé sees the distribution network and aftersales as the main strengths. Instead of exclusive "city stores" and online purchasing, there is a classic dealer network: 23 dealers in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland already sell the new brand and carry out maintenance, repairs and warranty work.
Von Bachellé is convinced that the company's down-to-earth and service-oriented approach sets it apart from the competition. The entire aftersales processes are integrated into Emil Frey's workflows; in addition to a spare parts warehouse in Switzerland, the company can also draw on the Stellantis warehouse in Rivalta, Italy, for parts procurement and is not reliant on direct orders from China. This ensures trust among Swiss customers - who are still wary of Chinese brands.
The main argument for buying is definitely the price-performance ratio, says Roger Küng from the Gross Garage in Baden AGone of the first Leapmotor dealers in Switzerland. Many customers are surprised at "how much car they can get for so little money". And nine out of ten who are interested in a car and test it would buy it. The cheaper of the two models available so far, the electric city runabout T03, has an entry-level price of CHF 16,900, which is well below the "magic limit" of CHF 20,000 - and offers a range of almost 400 kilometers. The larger C10 SUV also impresses with a price of 37,900 francs.
The plans are ambitious: The current market share of 0.3 percent in Switzerland is to be significantly increased in the future, and seven models are to be on offer by 2027. A new variant of the C10 will celebrate its world premiere at Auto Zurich in November - with 580 hp and all-wheel drive. According to von Bachellé, the manufacturer confirmed its development within two weeks in response to an explicit request from Switzerland. This makes it clear that the brand really is on the move at what is known as "China speed" and is pushing ahead with projects and developments in record time. International growth too Emil Frey with Leapmotor: Europe's largest car dealer has secured the rights as official importer in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia.
