Leapmotor, the Chinese EV maker partnered with Stellantis, has revealed a compact electric saloon aimed at younger buyers.
Twinned with the Kia Sportage-sized Leapmotor B10 crossover that's due in UK showrooms later this year, the Leapmotor B01 is a five-door fastback of a similar size to the Mercedes-Benz CLA, priced from the equivalent of just £10,400 in China.
It has only been revealed in Chinese guise so far, complete with roof-mounted lidar sensor, and while Leapmotor has pledged to have a six-model line-up in the UK by 2027, it is unlikely to bring the B01 here to join the T03 supermini, B10 crossover and C10 SUV.
A Leapmotor official told Autocar the company is assessing the viability of small saloon sales in Europe but noted that demand for such cars has fallen in recent years.
Technical details are yet to be fully revealed, but Leapmotor touts a "segment-leading" range of 404 miles (650km) - although that's according to China’s CLTC test cycle, which tends to be more generous than Europe’s system, so expect that to translate to a WLTP figure in the mid-350s.
The battery chemistry and capacity haven't yet been confirmed, but the B01 owes its long range in part to its sleek fastback silhouette. With a drag coefficient of just 0.197, it's slipperier than even the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S.
Speaking at the car’s Shanghai motor show debut, Leapmotor senior vice-president Cao Li said the B01 was designed to respond to “what young consumers really want from a car”.
He said that “for young people who perceive taste”, the current offering of similarly sized and priced alternatives in China – predominantly aimed at ride-hailing services – is currently “not enough”.
“They want good features and quality - they want it all!”
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I love this. It looks nice and the tech will be decent for the price, even at 23k. And I'm so angry that they won't bring this to the UK because "there's no demand"...
I'm here! Demanding EV estates and saloons!
But there aren't many good but affordable options for me to prove demand because carmakers only want to offer SUVs in the UK.
Yes tge interior is a but boring but still better than a certain American brand and yes the exterior is maybe a bit dull but many people will like that.
A runaway success, no doubt, because Stellantis doesn't have enough internally competing vehicles in every sector. People, especially Mercedes and Audi drivers, will leap at this unknown, untried brand.