Leapmotor announces that its first two models will arrive in Europe in September

You may not be familiar with the name Leapmotor, but soon it will make a serious bid to carve out a place in the increasingly complicated European market. The Chinese company has created a joint venture with the Stellantis Group, so it will soon land in Europe through this new company, Leapmotor International. Two models will arrive in Europe, and they will soon be joined by others, which the company hopes to have ready over the rest of the decade.

The shared company was created in October 2023, when Stellantis bought 21% of the Chinese brand’s shares, with the intention of leveraging its experience and electric vehicle technology to launch a striking launch campaign for this type of vehicle. “If you can’t beat them, join them“, seems to be the strategy pursued by the European company.

In Europe, Leapmotor models will be available in nine countries. They will be available in Germany, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain. Thus, our country becomes one of the countries where you will be able to drive one of these electric models. Later on, Leapmotor International will reach other markets, such as the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia and India), Africa (Turkey, Israel and French overseas territories), the Middle East, and South America (Brazil and Chile).

What the brand will not reach, at least for now, is the United States. This country will remain outside the brand’s expansion strategy for the time being.

The first two Leapmotor models in Europe

The arrival of the Chinese-European brand is expected in September 2024 and will consist of two models. These will be the Leapmotor T03 and the electric C10 SUV. The first is a compact car designed for the city. It is similar in size to the Mitsubishi Mirage, to give one example. Its motor has a capacity of 75 kW, equivalent to 100 CV, which will be powered by energy stored in a battery that will give it a range of 265 kilometres under the CLTC cycle.

The Leapmotor C10 will be an SUV, which is known to use an LFP battery with two capacities. The 52.9 kWh version will offer a range of 410 km under the CLTC cycle, while the 69.9 kWh version will reach 530 km, also under the CLTC cycle. It uses a 170 kW synchronous motor, equivalent to 231 CV, with a maximum torque of 320 Nm.

While the first will be manufactured in Poland, according to the data provided by the brand, the second will be imported from China. As for the new models, four more are expected to arrive before 2028.