B10 set to start in full battery form, but range extender expected next year.

AMBITIOUS Chinese electric car maker Leapmotor has confirmed intent to make a splash in the small sports utility space this year.

Confirmation that the B10 is coming as an alternate to its sole product presently here, the medium C10, also raises prospect of it also starting out as a single motor full electric, with a range-extender petrol-electric choice coming in 2026.

Unveiled at last year’s Paris Motor Show, B10 is proposed by its maker as a rival for the BYD Atto3, which was a big seller here prior to the cessation of electric car subsidies at the end of 2023, but now does little.

The Leapmotor is built in five variants, with the full electrics running a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack in two capacities; a 56.2 kWh and 67.1 kWh.

Cited respective ranges of 510 kilometres and 600km are gauged using China’s domestic CLTC scale, which is wildly optimistic.

Logically, New Zealand will adopt the same version going into Australia in October, which means a rear-mounted electric motor making 160kW of power and 240Nm of torque, for 6.8 seconds in the 0-100kmh sprint time.

The EV can be charged from 30 percent to 80 percent in about 19 minutes.

The range extender also leverages the EV’s 800-volt architecture, with the engine acting as a generator to feed a battery that will power a front-mounted electric motor to drive the rear wheels.

It appears to use the same drivetrain as the C10 REEV, which means a 158kW/320Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder unit, charging a 28.4kWh battery via a 50kW on-board generato.

The C10 petrol-electric is capable of an all-EV driving range of 145km, or 970km combined (both WLTP figures), while averaging just 0.9L/100km. It’s thought the smaller SUV’s figures will be even better.

Sitting on a 2735mm wheelbase, the B10 measures in at 4515mm long, 1885mm wide and 1655mm tall, so isn’t much more compact than the C10 at 2825mm/4739mm/1900mm/1680mm.

Leapmotor has the backing of Stellantis, so is represented in New Zealand by Armstrong Group, which has some but not all Stellantis brands here. The local brands’ operation - Auto Distributors - is now run by Simon Rutherford, a Briton who came to New Zealand to run Ford.

Leapmotor is expanding its retail network to support the arrival of the B10 and “future models”.

Armstrong’s Leapmotor dealerships are already established in Auckland (Greenlane), Christchurch and Wellington, with a new location recently added in Auckland (Botany). More locations will follow as the brand continues to grow.

“The B10 is perfectly aligned with what New Zealand drivers are increasingly looking for — electric, practical, high-tech vehicles with standout design and smart features, all at an accessible price point.”

The B10 is the first model in Leapmotor’s new medium-size SUV lineup, which is focused on delivering globally competitive electric vehicles tailored for international markets.

Rutherford says the model’s presence here reflects Leapmotor’s commitment to becoming a serious player in the country’s EV segment, as the local market continues to evolve post-recession with renewed consumer interest in sustainable mobility.

Though it only came into being in 2015, Leapmotor has wasted no time in developing a range of cars. The B10 is the seventh model to be unveiled, coming out a year after C10.

Leapmotor’s first car, the S01 EV sporty coupe, came out in 2019 and is still in production. It also has the T03 EV city hatch, C11 EV/REEV coupe SUV, C01 EV/REEV sedan and has most recently launched the C16 EV/REEV large SUV.

Stellantis owns a 21 percent share in Leapmotor and a 51 percent slice of Leapmotor International, which conducts all activity for the brand outside of China.