Leapmotor says it can change the way a vehicle drives after it has left the factory, using software updates at ports, dealerships or over the air rather than waiting for another production run.
The upcoming B03X small electric SUV is the latest example.
Speaking with media, including CarExpert, at its international launch in Spain, Leapmotor International global head of brand strategy, product and marketing Francesco Giacalone acknowledged further work was required on the precision of its steering.
“We still need to do something in terms of precision of the steering wheel,” said Mr Giacalone.
He said the company intended to test a steering calibration developed for the B05 hatch and apply the result to the B03X through software.
“It’s just software OTA,” he said.
The steering calibration fitted to early European launch vehicles won’t necessarily be the one Australian buyers receive when the B03X is launched here. That is becoming an increasingly important distinction as Chinese automakers shorten development cycles and continue changing products after production has begun.
Leapmotor has already used the same process on another model.
Mr Giacalone said media-drive examples of the B10 Hybrid EV had already been built and were travelling to Europe when the company decided to change their steering software.
“The cars produced for the media drive were already on the boat,” he said.
Engineers selected a calibration from another Leapmotor model, changed the code and installed it when the vehicles reached their destination. The cars were therefore built with one steering calibration in China and driven by media with another in Europe.
The company can apply similar changes during a dealer’s pre-delivery inspection, allowing vehicles already in the distribution network to be updated before they are handed to customers.
Australian B10 owners have also received a substantial over-the-air update. It added one-pedal driving and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while refining elements of the driver-assistance software.
Leapmotor says the speed comes from its centralised electronic architecture and the amount of vehicle behaviour controlled through software.
That can include steering weighting, accelerator response, regenerative braking, infotainment functions and some driver-assistance calibrations.
It doesn’t mean every vehicle change is quick or software-only.
Leapmotor global head of product planning and connectivity Tianyue Zhong said changing homologated hardware such as tyres or suspension components could require close to a year of validation and certification work.
A tyre change can affect energy consumption, range, braking and safety testing. Structural, battery and electrical changes can take longer again.
The difference helps explain why Leapmotor can respond to one piece of feedback within weeks, yet choose to wait for a later model year or generation before changing another – the company can’t simply download a larger battery, faster charging hardware or a different suspension design into an existing car.
Leapmotor is using software to narrow the gap between the moment a car leaves the factory and the specification a customer ultimately receives.
