Leapmotor has given its clearest indication yet that a ute or pickup could form part of its global product plans, with Australia among the markets being evaluated.

Francesco Giacalone, Head of Product & Marketing at Leapmotor International, stopped short of confirming a pickup program, but said regional demand outside Europe was shaping the brand's future model thinking.

Asked how important Australia is to Leapmotor's right-hand-drive strategy, Giacalone said local momentum had improved after a slower start.

"It's growing," Giacalone said.

"Australia was one of the first markets we introduced."

"Since January, February, we really are experiencing a good ramp-up in terms of engagement, network, consumer interest, website visit, which are booming."

Giacalone described Australia as Leapmotor's second most important right-hand-drive market behind the UK.

"When we look at right-hand-drive markets in this moment, it is number two," he said.

"There is UK, there is Australia, and we will keep developing vehicles in that direction."

He then hinted that Australia-specific requirements had been discussed internally.

"This morning we had a very, very interesting conversation about Australia and what we as Leapmotor can do to create products that fit that market and for which maybe another market there is no demand, and you can guess what type of products they are," Giacalone said.

Pressed on whether that should be taken as confirmation of a pickup, Giacalone replied: "I never say so."

However, he said Leapmotor's regionalised product strategy includes demand that is not focused on Europe.

"Europe is not a pickup market," Giacalone said.

"Brazil is, Australia maybe so."

Giacalone said Australia on its own would not necessarily provide the volume case for a standalone model, but a broader global business case could change that.

"Australia right now represents, from a volume point of view, not such strong arguments to build a standalone car for one market," he said.

"But within the Leapmotor strategy to go global and be present global in South America, and Brazil is 30 per cent of the markets in terms of registration, so there could be interest to develop that thing."

The comments point to Brazil as a likely driver for any future Leapmotor pickup program, with Australia potentially benefiting if the model were engineered for right-hand-drive markets.

No timing, platform, body style, battery, range, towing capacity or Australian launch plan has been confirmed.

The brand's local range is still in its early stages, with Leapmotor building its international footprint through SUVs and small EVs before any potential expansion into more market-specific models.

CarSauce has previously covered Leapmotor's Australian growth through models such as the B10 compact SUV and the upcoming B05 electric hatch.

Beyond pickups, Giacalone said Leapmotor is also considering other body styles as it expands globally.

"There are a lot of ideas," he said.

"The same way there are ideas about vans, the same ideas about even bigger, large SUVs."

When asked whether those SUVs could be ladder-frame and off-road capable, Giacalone said Leapmotor was not positioning itself as a dedicated off-road brand.

He said that kind of visual direction was being considered, but did not confirm a rugged SUV program.

Leapmotor International is the joint venture responsible for Leapmotor products outside China, with Stellantis involved in distribution and engineering input for overseas markets.

Giacalone said Stellantis chassis and dynamics teams had been working with Leapmotor to tune products for non-Chinese markets, including steering and handling characteristics.

He also said Leapmotor now operates in more than 50 markets, up from fewer than 30 markets 12 months earlier, with more than 1000 sales and service points outside China.

For Australia, the key takeaway is that Leapmotor is not simply assessing the local market as a destination for existing Chinese-market cars.

The company is now openly discussing products that may need to be shaped around regional demand, and utes remain one of Australia's most important vehicle categories.