Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology has begun selling cars in Mexico, marking the Chinese automaker's first push into North America.
The move brings its B10 crossover, a compact electric SUV, to a region increasingly wary of Chinese vehicle imports.
Leapmotor, which is backed by the multinational carmaker Stellantis, is offering the B10 in a single trim priced at 575,000 Pesos, or about $33,000.
The listing follows local adaptation testing at a Stellantis facility in Mexico, according to the carmaker's Mexican website.
The B10 is sold as an extended-range electric vehicle, a design in which a petrol engine works only as a generator to charge the battery rather than driving the wheels directly.
Leapmotor says the model pairs a 1.5-litre petrol engine with a 215 horsepower electric motor and an 18.8 kilowatt-hour battery.
That combination delivers roughly 60 miles of all-electric range and more than 615 miles in total, the company says.
The launch arrives as the future of North American trade rules remains unsettled.
The United States has declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form, the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said.
The debut also lands in the middle of a wider political dispute over Chinese carmakers operating in the region.
Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, opposed a Stellantis plan to convert a plant in Brampton to build Leapmotor vehicles, according to reports.
The opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, has pushed for an auto strategy centred on the United States.
Positions elsewhere have been more accommodating.
Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, announced an agreement with Beijing earlier this year to admit more than 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1%.
The former US ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, has publicly opposed allowing Chinese-made vehicles into the market.
For Stellantis, the Mexican launch offers a route into the region for its Chinese partner while the political and trade backdrop remains uncertain.
The B10 gives Leapmotor an early foothold in North America without direct entry into the United States.
