Foton T5 vs Leapmotor C10

What's the difference?

It’s still early days for battery-electric workhorses in Australia but Chinese brand Foton is making a concerted push into the zero-tailpipe-emissions commercial-vehicle market with its T5 EV.

The Beijing-based manufacturer, which has topped commercial-vehicle sales in China for almost two decades, is offering the ‘new energy’ electric T5 cab-chassis with a choice of GVM ratings: 4500kg for car licence operation or 6000kg for Light Rigid truck licence holders.

With a claimed fully-loaded driving range of 180km and unique-for-EV 3500kg braked tow rating, Foton says the T5 EV can also provide fleets with upfront and operational cost reductions of around 20 per cent compared to diesel. And it can be fitted with a wide variety of service bodies, including its own ready-to-work Tipper variant.

Foton is aiming to expand local sales by focusing on customers involved in last-mile logistics, local councils, construction and infrastructure support, for which this vehicle is best suited. We recently trialled a T5 EV to see how it stacks up as an alternative to diesel.

The Leapmotor C10 mid-size SUV has been on sale in Australia for more than six months now, but a lot of people still give you a puzzled look when you mention the brand.

Initially offered in electric vehicle (EV) form only, the Chinese carmaker has now introduced a petrol-electric hybrid version to bring the fight to the BYD Sealion 6, Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV and Jaecoo J7 SHS, among others.

Dubbed the C10 REEV (Range Extender Electric Vehicle), it reintroduces a powertrain technology that has previously only been offered in two cars locally. These include the Holden Volt and BMW i3 REx.

With an electric motor providing all the driving power, there’s also a petrol engine that acts purely as a generator. This is claimed to allow the car to still feel like an EV, but also have the flexibility of being able to fuel up for longer distances.

Australian deliveries of the C10 REEV started a few months ago, but CarsGuide is now getting a first local drive of this car following a brief drive in Europe back in April.

How does it stack up? Read along to find out.

@carsguide.com.au

Can you tell the difference between these two 2025 Leapmotor C10 models? ⚡ On the right is the new C10 REEV (Range-extender electric vehicle) which has only recently arrived in Australia. Here are some fast facts: ⏩ 158kW electric motor ⏩ 1.5L petrol engine generator ⏩ Up to 1150km total range ⏩ $43,888 before on-roads P.S. How good does Jade Green look? P.P.S. If you said the difference between the cars is also the interior colours, pat yourself on the back #leapmotor #c10 #leapmotorc10 #reev #rangeextender #EV #SUV #car #carsguide #fyp

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