Leapmotor B10 compact SUV was officially teased in China. It is a new compact crossover from the Stellatis-backed Chinese automaker. Leapmotor will officially reveal its latest model at the Paris Auto Show on October 14 to emphasize the B10 is designed for global markets.
Leapmotor was initially a Chinese new energy vehicle startup founded in 2015. Eight years later, in 2023, the fourth biggest world automaker Stellantis acquired 20% of Leapmotor in a 1.5 billion Euro deal. What is more, Leapmotor and Stellantis have created a Joint Venture called Leapmotor International. In this JV, Stellantis holds a majority stake of 51%.
The Leapmotor’s model line in China consists of five models: the T03 city car, the C01 sedan, and C10, C11, and C16 crossovers. Currently, Leapmotor officially exports only two vehicles overseas: T03 and C10. This family expects a new addition, which is the Leapmotor B10 crossover.
The Leapmotor B10 came out of nowhere
The Leapmotor B10 suddenly emerged in China. In August 2023, this car wasn’t in the brand’s model planning. Instead, there were A12 crossover, A03 sedan, B11 crossover, B01 sedan, and B13 crossover. It is clear that some changes have occurred since then.
Based on previous spy shots, we can see that the Leapmotor B10 highly resembles the A12 crossover. These cars have similar C-pillars and D-pillars, a bonnet line, side-view mirrors, and overall proportions. Moreover, Leapmotor said the B10 will be priced around 100,000 – 150,000 yuan (14,250 – 21,400 USD) in China. The Leapmotor A12 was previously said to have the same price range.
Another argument in our favor is that the Leapmotor A12 was previously said to be the brand’s second model designed for global markets, especially Europe. And now, we have the B10 crossover that will make its official premiere in Paris. So, we are quite convinced the Leapmotor B10 is a renamed A12 SUV.
However, there is only one inconsistency in our theory. The Leapmotor A12 stands on the brand’s A-platform. The B10 SUV was teased as the B-platform-based model. Anyway, these two platforms derive from the LEAP (the newest variant is LEAP 3.5) modular architecture.
More about the Leapmotor B10
Leapmotor B10 was revealed in official images wearing thick camouflage with the “Leapmotor” inscription on it. We can highlight it has thin DRLs under the hood and circular headlamps in the front bumper. The Leapmotor 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 about the B10’s powertrain. But the car in Spy Shots has a single charging port cover in the rear right fender. So, the B10 in 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. But we can see it is a compact SUV. So, it is smaller than the C10 crossover currently available in Europe. We at CarNewsChina assume the body length of the B10 is around 4.5 meters.
Leapmotor accelerates worldwide
The Leapmotor B10 will become a well-needed support to the brand’s overseas strategy. Leapmotor sells its two models (T03 and C10) in thirteen European countries. They are France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Leapmotor expects to open 350 outlets worldwide by the end of 2024. Among them, over 200 stores will be in Europe. Other countries Leapmotor is eyeing are Turkey, Izrael, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Brazil, and Chile.
Leapmotor’s retail sales volume reached 136,794 units in China from January to August 2024. The recently launched C16 SUV seriously boosted the brand’s market positioning in China. However, it is unknown if Leapmotor will introduce this car to overseas markets.
It seems that the brand’s task number one in China is 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.
Source: Leapmotor
