“Every single unit we sell and every single Euro we make, we are fully consolidated into the Stellantis book. I always say to my team: ‘we are a start-up with two good parents. The Chinese parent provides innovative technologies and products at competitive cost. And Stellantis is able to give me a strong, powerful European network’,” he said.

Leapmotor is able to tap its European parent for administrative functions such as IT and customer management software, parts warehousing and logistics. Xin is confident parts can be with service centres within a day or two to minimise vehicle downtime. 

More product initiatives – potentially powered by Stellantis

With Leapmotor poised to tap into Stellantis’s European factory network, could it also use its platforms? “It would bring more scale,” said the boss, although he counseled that the cars must be strongly differentiated.

And with Leapmotor reliant on EV and hybrid power, could it broaden its powertrain offer with access to staples such as Stellantis’s 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo engine? “If it’s possible, if it’s needed,” Xin explained. “That’s one of the beauties of this deal. What you mention is one of the potential opportunities to be explored between Leapmotor and Stellantis.”

This would give Leapmotor the chance to attack the non-EV market, because its small cars are currently only engineered for electric power, and REx powertrains are reserved for bigger cars. 

“For instance, REx will come in bigger cars, because you need space for an engine and big batteries, and you drive longer distances. So B10 and C10 both have hybrid EV technology plus pure BEV. For the other vehicles we are focusing on pure BEV technologies, but it doesn’t rule out in the future that we will introduce other alternative powertrains into those cars as well, depending on how fast this energy transition is going to happen outside of China.”

Even with just the two powertrains, Xin believes his brand is set for decent growth. “For most of 2025, we had only two models, but we managed to register more than 35,000 units, with actual sales topping 60,000. And Leapmotor globally has announced a one million volume target for 2026. My objective is Europe should contribute more than 10 per cent of that volume.”

Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express? We’ll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too.

• Fearsome performance; excellent practicality
• 328bhp, four-wheel drive
• Only £301.48 a month

If you thought the £327-a-month Volkswagen Golf R deal we featured last month was scorching value, then get a load of this. The more practical, but-no less-fire-breathing, Golf R Estate could be yours for a bonkers £301 a month right now.

This scintillating offer comes from VIPGateway through the Auto Express Buy A Car service. All that’s needed to get this three-year agreement up and running is a 12-month initial payment of £3,987.71, while mileage is capped at 5,000 a year.

You can tweak the deal to suit your requirements of course. If that 12-month downpayment is a little bit much for you, then you can knock it to nine months at £3,144.98, with the monthly outlay still being a very reasonable £322.17. 

Or perhaps you need more mileage? You can raise the limit to 8,000 miles a year for £21.17 extra a month after the 12-month initial payment, or £23.19 extra if you make the nine-month initial payment. 

While GTI versions of the Golf deliver a purer driving experience, the R Estate is the ultimate when it comes to everyday performance and usability. 

At the heart of the R is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine packing a fearsome 328bhp, allowing a 0-62mph acceleration time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. A trick four-wheel drive system gives all-weather traction, while DCC3 (Dynamic Chassis Control) allows the driver to tweak the dampers and suspension as they see fit. 

The Golf R Estate has a massive 611-litre boot that expands to over 1,600 litres when the back seats are folded down, meaning it’s one of the most practical performance cars around. 

Aside from the extra practicality, the rest of the package is pure Golf R, so there’s a pair of sports seats trimmed in racy blue-on-black fabric, lashings of Alcantara trim, paddle-shifters for the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and a plush feel to the materials.     

The Car Deal of the Day selections we make are taken from our own Auto Express Buy A Car deals service, which includes the best current offers from car dealers and leasing companies around the UK. 

Terms and conditions apply, while prices and offers are subject to change and limited availability. If this deal expires, you can find more top VW Golf R Estate leasing offers from leading providers on our VW Golf R Estate page.

Check out the VW Golf R Estate deal or take a look at our previous Car Deal of the Day selection here…

After several further attempts to connect her car to the mains, something clicked and the car accepted the charge. Despite solving the problem, the question surrounding that handover (or lack thereof) was impossible to ignore. I couldn’t help feeling that in spite of her good intentions, my sister had been significantly shortchanged.

Dealers might be daunting, but they’re often an invaluable source of knowledge and expertise, and I’d encourage you to lean on them as much as necessary. No one knows the cars like they do.

Whether it’s deciphering a tricky touchscreen or simply finding out how to lift the bonnet and refill the washer fluid, a proper handover is worth its weight in gold. I’ve every confidence that if my sibling had asked for someone to show her the ropes, she’d never have had the difficulties she did.

So, even if you intend to buy online, make sure you visit your local dealer. Sit in the car, familiarise yourself with the controls, and drive it on familiar roads. If anything’s unclear, ask; if you’re going to be stuck with a car for three years or more, you might as well get the most out of it…

Buy a car with Auto Express. Our nationwide dealer network has some fantastic cars on offer right now with new, used and leasing deals to choose from…

Facelifts are a great way for manufacturers to extend the life of cars that might otherwise be showing their age, giving owners a reason to upgrade by offering a subtle new look or enhanced technology. But aside from the obvious, opting for a later model or last-of-the-line run-out special could be the smartest buying decision you ever make.

Teething troubles with brand-new models are commonplace. Major recalls often occur within the first few months, while parts supply can be patchy until factories come on stream. Early software glitches are easier to remedy now with the advent of over-the-air updates, but no one wants a buggy sat-nav or patchy connection while waiting for HQ to implement a fix.

So while it’s deep rooted within the British psyche to want the latest car with cutting-edge tech and features, it makes a lot of sense to let the dust settle and the hype subside. Why not let someone else suffer the inevitable fate of potential dealer visits and endless hours on hold to customer care?

I’m being facetious, of course. Not all new cars are troublesome straight out of the blocks, but there’s plenty to be said for choosing something with an established reliability record – something with the early issues ironed out and an up-to-date software package free from annoying quirks. If that sounds sensible to you, a facelifted car could be just the ticket.

Not only will you get the latest look, you’ll also benefit from thousands of hours of independent user testing and millions of miles of real-world evaluation. Car makers spend billions creating new models, but development doesn’t stop the moment the covers come off; global brands can’t afford to rest on their laurels, and the big beneficiary is you – the customer.

The only thing better than a facelift, in my eyes, is a run-out special edition. These cars, having often spent seven or eight years in-market, come free from erroneous software problems, ergonomic flaws and quality concerns. They are loaded with kit, too – be that flashy interior trim, big screens or exclusive alloy wheels; you might even get an exclusive paint colour if you’re lucky.

But best of all, dealers want them out of their showrooms – and are likely to have some pretty spectacular finance offers to tempt you with. So do yourself a favour: swerve that sexy new SUV or cool coupe and find a trouble-free facelifted car with all the bells and whistles instead.

Whether you’re buying old or new, our Buy a Car service has plenty of fantastic cars to choose from. Search for the latest deals…

Gilles Vidal, new head of European Stellantis design, has confirmed that Maserati will reveal a new future-gazing concept car at the Paris Motor Show in October. 

Vidal told Auto Express: “If you look at the history of Maserati, every two decades or so there’s a massive shift in the design expression. You had the curvy Maseratis in the fifties and sixties, like the Ferraris and the Rolls-Royces of the era. Then it switched to super-edgy design in the seventies and eighties, and then it switched again. Now it’s back to curvy, but in a different way, yet you can say it’s a Maserati.

“So, what we are looking at is what’s the next thing for Maserati. Because the current look is now kind of finished, and we’ve started [looking into] this. If you wait a few months, you’ll see what we are thinking.” This was later confirmed to be a concept car at the Paris Motor Show. 

The historic Italian brand has been under lots of scrutiny over the past few years due to sluggish sales. Its current model range has failed to resonate with buyers, across both its electrified and ICE ranges. 

To add insult to injury, the high-end car market’s resistance to EVs has subsequently quashed most, if not all of the brand’s momentum. It had planned for electric cars to be a major part of its future. 

As a direct consequence of this slow-down in EV development, Maserati has seen the cancellation of imminent product lines such as the all-electric MC20 Folgore, while it’s been rumoured that the next Quattroporte has been culled. These decisions have in effect halted the product plan in the short and medium terms, and with nothing in the immediate Stellantis portfolio suitable to underpin future models from the company, things have been looking rocky. 

However, the confirmation of a Paris concept car shows that all is not silent at Maserati’s Modenese HQ. What the concept car will be is anyone’s guess at this stage, but expect a big departure from the neoclassical design language that’s been in play for most of the 21st century. But what do you think it could be? Supercar? Low-slug four-door saloon? We look forward to finding out. 

If you’re looking to buy a new high-end motor like a Maserati, make sure to check out the Auto Express Buy a Car service now for all the latest deals…