Leapmotor B05 Reviews

The Leapmotor B10 Design LR is the top variant for the second model in Leapmotor’s range in Australia. The LR in its name stands for Long Range, given its larger battery compared to the base Style.

As Leapmotor looks to cement its place in the developing pantheon of new Chinese electric car brands in Australia, its second model is a statement. But there’s more to come.The 2026 Leapmotor B10 is a competitively priced small electric SUV with more space than rivals, but another Leapmotor is already confirmed on the horizon.The Leapmotor B05, an electric hatchback revealed last year at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, is set to land in Australia in the second half of 2026.While it’s a little bigger than pre-EV era hatches, the 4430mm long, 1880mm wide and 1520mm tall B05 will go up against rivals like the MG4 or GWM Ora, though pricing is yet to be determined.Given it’s smaller than the B10, it’d be surprising if its price landed too close to the roughly-$40,000 of Leapmotor’s just-arrived small SUV.While the B05 is confirmed for arrival, pricing and details aren’t locked-in, and Stellantis Australia Senior Product Manager Rick Crichton wouldn’t be drawn on rough guidelines for pricing.“No pricing,” he said, “I’m not here to talk about B05 pricing or spec, or anything other than acknowledging it’s coming.”While nothing else is locked in yet, Crichton also hinted that the smaller Leapmotor A10 was under consideration for Australia, although it’s had a name change since it was revealed.“So A10 is something that's being considered, but what I can tell you is that Leapmotor has renamed A10 to B03X for export markets.”The B03X is just 4.2m long and 1.8m wide, and in China has a claimed range of 500km under lenient CLTC testing.For its size, the B03X boasts some strong tech including LiDAR-enabled advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), an ‘AI-powered cockpit’ and over-the-air (OTA) updates.It’s expected the B03X would rival the likes of the BYD Atto 1.Finally, the Leapmotor D19, a large electric SUV, is on the radar even though Crichton said there’s nothing to confirm.“It's something that we're always looking at. Nothing we can confirm today, but certainly the product portfolio in China is continuing to expand and it certainly gives us a lot of options to pick .”Speaking with media last year, including CarsGuide, Leapmotor’s Global Head of Brand Strategy, Product and Marketing Francesco Giacalone said the D19 lines sizes up with models like the Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol."It's on architecture 3.5 with very advanced hybrid technology, based on a range-extender that has been even further evolved for that flagship. The intention is to have a full-size SUV, four-wheel drive, desert-ready."

The Leapmotor B10 Style is the entry variant for the second model in Leapmotor’s range in Australia.

The 2026 Leapmotor B10 lands in Australia promising to be the most European of its Chinese compatriots. At its local launch, we get behind the wheel in scorching south-east Queensland to find out if that holds true for this electric small SUV, and to see if the B10 can bring with it a better first impression than the already-arrived mid-size C10.

The Leapmotor C10 REEV has entered the Chesto family garage, and it’s a model I’m pretty interested in. Well, its powertrain specifically. And that’s because I suspect I’m a lot like most of you; all aboard the EV train, right up until we find ourselves too far from the bright lights of the city.See, an EV mostly makes perfect sense for our little urban family, and when I have one through the garage I generally charge it once a week, if that. The suburbs are an EV’s best friend, and we can take seemingly limitless short hops before needing to top up.I say ‘mostly’, because (and this is just a hard fact of EV ownership, so don’t shoot the messenger in the comments) they are indisputably more annoying than their ICE-powered counterparts on really long trips.We duck off down the NSW South Coast every now and again – about 2.5 hours from our place in Sydney – and it’s on these adventures that I sometimes forget the ease of EV life in the city and begin cursing the lack of regional charging infrastructure, and pondering why my wife doesn’t enjoy spending her holidays sipping bad coffee in a service station forecourt while we wait to top up.The C10 REEV, though, promises to fix that. I’ve got the fancy Design variant (currently $47,990, drive-away, but usually $47,888, before on-road costs). And the REEV bit — or Range Extender Electric Vehicle — refers to the fact its rear-mounted electric motor is supplemented by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that acts as a mobile power generator for the C10’s 28.4kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.In simple terms, it drives like an EV, but when charge is low the engine kicks in to provide power to the battery. I have driven my C10 with a near-flat battery, and it keeps moving – albeit very gingerly at first as the battery recharges. And I’ve driven it with no fuel, surviving just on battery power. And both work, suggesting it really does offer a pretty comprehensive safety net for those motoring incompetents like myself who insist, against all odds, that we’ll make it to the next fuel station/public charger before we run out of juice.Leapmotor reckons that, with battery and tank topped up, you can expect a combined driving range of 1150km, albeit according to the more lenient NEDC testing protocol. Still, my car has promised a range of about 1000km via its on-board computer.There is a catch, though, and that is that you need to treat it like an EV and keep it topped up, because otherwise you’ll be using a lot of fuel. My test car’s on-board computer says over the last 2613km the REEV has averaged 7.3L/100km of fuel, which is worse than a good conventional hybrid. Get real lazy with the electrons and things are tougher still — I’ve seen 12.3L/100km pop up, which is almost dual-cab ute country.Still, the Leapmotor shouldn’t be punished for its owner’s laziness. It says EV in the title, so plug it in judiciously and you should see those numbers plummet, which is exactly what I’m doing from here out, so stay tuned for the next dispatch.What Leapmotor should be punished for, though, is the worst keyless entry system I have ever encountered. Mostly because it’s not keyless, and you can barely enter.The brand provides a credit-card-style fob which has no buttons. Easy enough, you think, because the proximity lock and unlock must be flawless. Um, nope. It doesn’t have that. Instead, you need to hold the card against a small square on the driver’s mirror to unlock the car as well as lock and switch off the vehicle. I discovered the latter when I got a call from my neighbour at 10pm asking me why my car was lighting up the street like a UFO landing.Now, to fully understand my hatred of this system, you need to know a little more about my life. We have a 14-month-old son, and so my relationship with Woolworths and Chemist Warehouse is at VIP level. And when we get back from the shops, I need to grab my son from his seat, grab the groceries from the boot, then carry both to the driver's door, dig around in my pocket for the card, and then lock the door. And then the same in reverse when we try to leave the house. It would be tricky if I had three arms, and it's near impossible with just the two I've got.Happily, Leapmotor does have an app that you will be downloading immediately, allowing you to lock and unlock the car remotely, as well as pre-cool the cabin.With all of that sorted, the C10 REEV has slipped pretty comfortably into our family life. There’s enough backseat space to comfortably fit my son’s baby seat, and the boot will swallow a pram with space to spare for shopping and all the other stuff we now require.So far on the road the Leapmotor has proven pretty easy living, too, with the power (158kW, down slightly on the all-EV version of the C10) ample for getting up and moving. Comfort over athletic capability is the order of the day, though, with some floatiness to the ride. The brake pedal also takes some getting used to. Presumably there’s some internal tussle over how the regenerative braking should respond to my foot, but the pedal can at times feel worryingly spongy, then overly grabby.But I think I’ve now got the getting-to-know-you stuff in hand, so we push on into month two to see how this relationship develops. And it could be important – if I make my wife sit by a dusty charger somewhere too many more times, it might well be my only relationship.Acquired: January 2026Distance travelled this month: 650kmOdometer: 2613kmAverage fuel consumption this month: 7.3L/100km

The Leapmotor B10 and Zeekr 7X are among several models that have received top marks in their Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety tests. The B10 is an all-electric small SUV, which went on sale in November 2025. The BYD Atto 3, Hyundai Kona and Kia EV3 rival received some stand out results, including 93 per cent for adult protection and 95 per cent for child protection.Those two results equalled the highest score for those areas under ANCAP’s now outgoing 2023-2025 testing criteria.  The Zeekr 7X (the current 2026 CarsGuide Car of the Year best medium SUV under $60,000), also received five stars and was awarded 91 per cent for adult protection and 87 per cent child protection. The 7X offers a new alternative to big sellers in the mid-size SUV market, such as the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7.Another car to receive a five-star rating was the Geely Starray EM-i, the second Geely model to launch in Australia after the EX5 SUV. The recently-introduced Kia EV4 has also been rated, receiving five stars. The all-electric sedan arrived in Australia this month, ahead of the hatch variants joining later this year. The other car to pick up a five-star rating, was the Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe, which rated at 93 per cent for adult protection and 86 per cent for child protection. ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said this latest batch of ratings highlights the importance of maintaining car safety as more brands continue to be introduced to the market. “As more new models and emerging brands arrive on our roads, independent safety assessment remains critical,” Hoorweg said. “ANCAP testing provides consumers with clear, comparable information, and ensures vehicles meet the highest standards for protection, regardless of badge or price point.”ANCAP also announced that the MG HS small SUV’s five-star rating now extended to hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants in addition to petrol offerings.There was also an updated five-star rating for the Toyota bZ4X and its sister car the Subaru Solterra.This latest round of rest results will be the final set of cars tested under the previous criteria, with all new cars to be using the four-stage ‘Stages of Safety’ system. This will examine safe driving, crash avoidance, crash protection and post-crash, but a rating out of five stars will still be awarded for each car. 

In what seems to be an obvious end-game as part of its team-up with Leapmotor, Stellantis could be set to lean on its Chinese partner for hybrid technology to bolster its other brands in Europe.Ultimately, according to a new report from Autocar, this will mean the range extender hybrid tech from Leapmotor’s C10 and B10 will be deployed in at least Peugeots and Fiats.Autocar quotes Leapmotor’s international CEO Tianshu Xin as saying the company is “exploring the possibilities” to use range extender hybrid tech in other Stellantis brands, as part of the group finding “synergies by using each other's technology.”The international boss also earmarked future platform sharing as the direction in which the partnership was moving.Stelllantis, which was born from a merger between the America-focused Fiat Chrysler and Euro-focused PSA Group, has had a disparate array of products built for an array of different markets on a range of platforms which didn’t start out with a lot of commonality between them.The brands under the group include Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall.While this initially made it challenging for the group, it has gradually begun to rationalize its platforms into a handful to be used across its global range. For passenger cars this includes the 'STLA' small, medium, and large architecture, 4x4s and utes ride on the SLTA Frame platform.Leapmotor, which is 19.99 per cent owned by Stellantis, uses a separate 'LEAP' architecture for its vehicles, developed separately from Stellantis in China. Leapmotor is now also building cars in EuropeMr Xin’s comments on future platform sharing seems to indicate there could be future cars from European brands on the LEAP platform, or future Leapmotor cars underpinned by an STLA platform.Either way, Leapmotor’s range-extender hybrid technology solves a problem for Stellantis in rolling out a consistent range of hybrids in emissions-sensitive markets, or potentially even for the American market where EVs are floundering thanks to the removal of incentives.For Australia, it could lead to a range of appealing range-extender hybrids wearing a wider array of badges, whether they are Fiats, Peugeots or even Jeeps.Jeep in particular is embattled in Australia, down a whopping 33.3 per cent until the end of 2025, moving just 1585 units for the year. Its range of products has been cut down significantly, with the brand discontinuing the new-generation (and significantly more expensive) Grand Cherokee after a slow sales run.This strips its range down to just the Wrangler off-roader and its related Gladiator ute, as well as the Euro-sourced Avenger electric compact SUV and outgoing previous-generation Compass mid-sizer.Peugeot is also embattled in Australia, having taken a 28.8 per cent sales hit over the course of 2025. It moved just 1350 units for the year, as it faces stiff competition from rivals new and old.Even Leapmotor’s fledgling effort in the Australian market has struggled to find traction. The brand offered the mid-size C10 in both EV and range-extender hybrid forms, and yet managed to sell 644 new vehicles over the course of the year.In comparison, its most direct rival, Geely and its EX-5 and Starray EM-i hybrid spin-off, moved over 5000 units in the same period.Next for Leapmotor’s Australian efforts is its B10 small SUV, initially in electric and later hybrid form. Internationally, the brand has also debuted the C16 large SUV and A10 crossover in China, as well as the B05 Golf-sized hatchback in Europe.

The European Union is proposing an alternative to its tariffs targeting Chinese-made electric-powered vehicles, in the form of a minimum price model, according to Bloomberg.Under the model, Chinese exporters can submit price offers, which must be “adequate to eliminate the injurious effects of the subsidies and provide equivalent effect to duties”.Details such as the minimum import price, sales channels, cross compensation and future investments in the EU must be included.Alternatively, brands who do not use this new model will continue to be subject to the tariffs.A 2024 investigation found China’s car exporters gained unfair advantage from Chinese government subsidies, which found they were able to sell cars significantly under the price of Europe-built alternatives.To combat this, Chinese brands were hit with tariffs of up to 35 per cent on imports in addition to a 10 per cent foreign cars tariff.These tariffs are designed to counteract the impact of these subsidies to protect jobs and entice buyers toward European cars.They also are intended to encourage Chinese brands to build cars in Europe.Chinese auto makers have already begun building cars in Europe.For example, Xpeng is using local assembly in Austria, while Leapmotor manufactures cars in Poland.This latest change demonstrates a cooperative approach between the EU and Chinese car makers, described as a “soft landing” in China.Despite tough economic conditions for Chinese car makers in Europe, brands are gaining an increasingly strong hold.Chinese car brands outsold Renault and Audi in Europe during August in 2025. The following month they sold more vehicles than South Korean brands in Western Europe for the first time ever.These defiant sales figures are largely due to Chinese brands shifting focus from EVs to the import of hybrid and internal combustion vehicles.The news comes after reports that the EU is planning to remove its total ban on petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.

You can't fit 10kg of dirt into a 5kg bag. That feels like an appropriate metaphor for the Australian car industry, where seemingly every few weeks a new car brand arrives to stake its claim on a piece of the market.

Further details on the Leapmotor A10 small EV SUV have been confirmed courtesy of application information lodged with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).We already know the city-sized five-door measures just 4.2m long, 1.8m wide and 1.6m tall, with a 2605mm wheelbase. But now we know the A10 (B03X for some export markets) is powered by a single 90kW electric motor and features a sophisticated oil-cooled drivetrain.Underpinned by the brand’s ‘global A’ EV-specific platform, the A10 boasts a claimed 500km (CLTC) range delivered by an “ultra-high-density” LFP battery. The MIIT filing also points to a rapid 16-minute 30-80 per cent charge time.According to Leapmotor, “The A10 is designed to break the industry’s three dilemmas: that premium must mean expensive, small cars must be low-tech and compact dimensions must sacrifice space.”The car’s global A architecture enables “flagship-level intelligence” including what the brand calls an ‘AI-powered cockpit’ as well as full over-the-air (OTA) updates throughout the vehicle’s life.At the same time, a prominent bump at the front of the A10’s roof, first seen in teaser images late last year, has now been identified as a Lidar sensor housing indicating availability of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features.The A10 follows Leapmotor’s ‘Technological Natural Aesthetics 2.0’ design language, already applied to its mid-size C10 and (soon-to-arrive in Australia) B10 small SUV stablemates. Details include semi-concealed door handles and dark side pillars for a ‘floating roof’ effect. The car will be offered in six colours in China with wheels ranging up to 18-inch alloys on high-spec grades shod with 215/50 tyres.Given domestic pricing is likely to sit around the ¥100,000 (low A$20,000) range, the A10 would be a natural competitor for the recently-arrived pure-electric BYD Atto 1 (from $23,990, before on-road costs), at the same time substantially undercutting the Hyundai Inster, recently reduced to $35,990, drive-away.When contacted for comment on the A10’s potential for the local market a Leapmotor Australia spokesperson said, “We haven’t confirmed yet but will let you know once we’re ready”.With Chinese order books open and domestic deliveries scheduled to begin in the first half of this year it sounds like the A10 will be hitting Aussie Leapmotor showrooms before the end of 2026.