Leapmotor B03X Reviews

Leapmotor studying utes and vans as part of potential future commercial vehicle push.

Leapmotor to rapidly expand its range of electric cars and hybrids to rival MG, GWM, and BYD

Price parity with combustion cars is here - but will Leapmotor find success in targeting post-early-adopter phase electric car buyers?

First it was hybrids that were going to replace combustion engine cars, then electric vehicles, and now we’re back to hybrids again it seems.

Despite a backwards step in 2024, Chinese cars are on-track to bounce back in 2025 as a flood of new brands enter the market.While brands like BYD, MG, GWM and Chery have already established themselves, a new wave is on the way to challenge Japan as Australia’s biggest car importer.By the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands officially in the Australian market and at least two more have announced plans for entry into our market in 2025 with more expected to follow. Japan, by contrast, only has nine brands in our local market but still comfortably leads the overall production with nearly 379,000 vehicles from Japan sold here in 2024.That compares to 272,139 from Thailand and 176,159 from China. Those figures don’t account for a brand’s national base but rather simply where they are built, so it includes certain Tesla, Volvo and other models from different brands.But while Japan and Thailand still lead the way as the most popular countries for new-car production, China appears on-course to overtake them in the not-too-distant future at the current rate.With the likes of Zeekr, Leapmotor, Deepal, XPeng, Geely, Smart, JAC, GAC/Aion, Jaecoo and more set to grow in 2025, plus expanded product lines from BYD, MG, GWM and Chery, the approximate 96,000 sales difference between China and Thailand could shrink dramatically this year.The industry is well aware of the rapid growth of the Chinese car industry in Australia, with Toyota Australia’s Head of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, commenting this week: “The Australian new-car market has always been one of the most competitive in the world, and 2025 will be no different. We expect to see more new brands and models, which means more choice and even stronger competition, which, in the end, is great for the consumer.“By all reports, there could be a dozen new Chinese car companies arriving in Australia by the end of next year. In the past five years, they have taken more than 13 percentage points of market share from established brands.”Hanley was quick to point out that while these new brands have taken significant market share, Toyota remains the clear leader.However, that growth must come from somewhere and that will force brands across the market to react to this new array of rivals. This is likely to result in increased competition for Australian buyers at a time when cost-of-living pressures are expected to cool the market after record sales in 2024.

The first global product from Leapmotor — the C10 — has scored a new ‘range-extrender’ hybrid option that could see it become more viable for markets where long driving distances are important.The 2025 Leapmotor C10 REEV (Range Extender Electric Vehicle) will make its debut at the 2025 Brussels Motor Show from January 10, joining the fully electric C10, which debuted in 2023 and is already available to order in Australia.The good news is that Stellantis Australia has confirmed to CarsGuide that the REEV will arrive locally in the first half of 2025, with more details to come later in Q1. Pricing for the EV currently starts from $47,500 drive-away as an introductory offer, for reference.The C10 REEV functions somewhat like a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), utilising a smaller 28.4kWh battery compared to the EV’s 69.9kWh unit and is able to be charged via plug as with EVs and PHEVs.Where it differs from many PHEVs is the petrol-powered 1.5-litre internal combustion engine (ICE) doesn’t drive the wheels at all, acting as a range-extender to charge the battery unit and allow the C10 to travel much further under electric power — albeit no longer tailpipe emission-free.The statement from Stellantis on the REEV’s reveal said the new variant allows for the “smooth, quiet, and responsive driving experience of an electric vehicle, while also providing the flexibility of a traditional gasoline engine for longer trips”.The battery alone can allow up to 145km of electric driving range, but the addition of the range extender brings a total range of more than 950km under WLTP testing according to Stellantis.Compared to the Leapmotor C10 EV, with its electric-only range of up to 420km, the C10 REEV could be far more suited to those in regional areas who find the idea of a relatively short-range EV untenable.The electric motor in the REEV appears to be the same as in the EV, with Stellantis’ media release noting it as a 158kW unit in the REEV, while the Leapmotor Australia website said the EV is a 160kW motor, rear-mounted.

Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new. In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.

ANCAP has released a raft of new scores for eight new models which have landed in Australia this year, with some notable new entrants falling short of the maximum five-star rating.

Leapmotor shocked the Australian car world when it announced local pricing for its Tesla Model Y competitor, the C10 electric SUV.

China’s cut-price Tesla Model Y rival has been revealed at a price that is guaranteed to throw the wind up the competition.