After an ABC Four Corners report on Chinese-made cameras in some electric cars, Leapmotor Australia has responded on data and privacy. The cameras in question are supplied by Dahua, a company whose products were banned from Australian federal government buildings in 2023.
What Leapmotor says
Leapmotor Australia boss Andy Hoang said the vehicles have been independently tested and certified for privacy, and that the cameras are there for driving-safety functions. He said dashcam footage is only exported from the car by USB, and that Leapmotor complies with Europe's GDPR, which he called a higher standard than Australia's. Hoang added that of every 100 customers, about two had raised data as a concern.
What is not confirmed
Leapmotor has not said where customer data is stored, or whether any data leaves the country. For now the safe reading is to take the company at its stated word on the testing and the USB-only export, and to ask the question yourself before you sign.
Cartell Assessment
This is the new reality of buying a connected car, not a Leapmotor-only issue. Cameras, microphones and always-on data sit in most new cars now, across many brands. Leapmotor has at least answered on the record, which is more than some have.
AU Outlook
Expect data and privacy to become a standard showroom question, and expect more brands to be asked where the footage and the telemetry actually go. Independent certification, named and published, would settle it faster than reassurance.
