Leapmotor arrives in Europe

The first European Media Drive for the Leapmotor C10 and T03 models is currently taking place in Milan. The event marks Leapmotor International’s official debut in Europe. Meanwhile, the Chinese carmaker is already readying other models to enter the market.

In October 2023, Leapmotor and Stellantis announced that Stellantis would invest around 1.5 billion euros in Leapmotor to acquire around 21% of the Chinese company’s shares.

The agreement also included the creation of Leapmotor International, the 51/49 joint venture led by Stellantis, with exclusive rights for exports and sales and the manufacturer of Leapmotor products outside of “Greater China.”

The first European markets involved by the end of the year are Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Malta, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, which all can rely on Stellanti’s extensive sales network and the support of dedicated Brand Managers.

From Q4 2024, Leapmotor’s commercial operations will also be expanded to the Middle East & Africa (Israel and overseas French territories), Asia Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia), as well as South America (Brazil and Chile).

C10 and T03

In the coming days, orders will open for two fully equipped models: the C10 SUV and the T03 compact car, which are currently being presented to the European press. The small T03 city car will be available from €18.900 at the end of September. The C10 SUV will be available from €36.400 and is planned to arrive at respective dealerships in October.

The five-door, four-seater T03 is ideal for urban mobility. Its length is 3,620 mm, width is 1,652 mm, height is 1,577 mm, and wheelbase is 2,400 mm. The T03 is equipped with an electric powertrain developed entirely by Leapmotor. The system’s heart is a 37.3 kWh battery that offers a range of 265 km in the WLTP combined cycle and up to 395 km in the urban cycle.

The T03 is compatible with Type 2 and CCS2 charging connectors and includes an onboard charger of 6.6 kW and a maximum DC charging power of 48 kW. The home charging time from 30% to 80% is around 3,5 hours, while utilizing a DC charging station for the same time requires just 36 minutes.

With a 70 kW/95 hp electromotor, the T03 has a top speed of 130 kph and reaches 100 kph from a standstill in 12.7 seconds.

The C10 is a large D-SUV with a length of 4,739 mm, a width of 1,900 mm, a height of 1,680 mm, and a wheelbase of 2,825 mm. It has a 160-kW motor (218 hp) with 320 Nm of torque. The 69.9-kWh battery pack guarantees 420 km of WLTP range.

C10 is equipped with a 6,6 kW AC charger, which allows one to go from 30% to 80% battery capacity in around 6,1 hours; the DC system allows one to achieve the same result in 30 minutes.

B10 compact SUV coming

The B10 compact SUV was just recently officially teased in China. Leapmotor will reveal its latest model at the Paris Auto Show on October 14 to emphasize that the B10 is designed for global markets.

Official images revealed the Leapmotor B10 wearing thick camouflage with the Leapmotor inscription. The B10 has retractable door handles to reduce drag. From the back, the spotted car has a slightly curved roofline and slanted D-pillars.

There is no information yet about the B10’s powertrain. But the car in the spy shots has a single charging port cover in the rear right fender. So, the B10 in these ‘official’ pictures is an all-electric car. However, Leapmotor is also actively pushing the EREV (range extender) technology in China. So, the B10 can also have a hybrid variant.

It is hard to tell the exact size of this car. It looks like a compact SUV, smaller than the C10 crossover currently available in Europe. At CarNewsChina, they assume a body length of around 4.5 meters.

From January to August 2024, Leapmotor’s retail sales volume reached 136,794 units in China. The recently launched big C16 SUV seriously boosted the brand’s market positioning in China. However, it is unknown if Leapmotor will introduce this car to overseas markets.

Currently, the brand’s task number one in China seems to be cutting costs. Leapmotor recently stopped manufacturing 4WD variants of its cars due to low demand. Now, it focuses on cheaper cars domestically. We’ll see if the international strategy will be different. Stellantis expects in any way interesting and well-priced products from its new partner.