Leapmotor will kick off its global expansion later this year and has included Malaysia as one of its target markets. One of the first products we believe that the Chinese EV brand will bring to Malaysia is its electric SUV, the C10.
Leapmotor is heading into Malaysia in Q4 2024
Stellantis Malaysia actually revealed Leapmotor’s plan to enter our market to several local automotive media earlier this year. However, it is only today that the plan was confirmed on the global level.
Leapmotor’s global expansion will be under the responsibility of Leapmotor International which is a joint venture that is 51% owned by Stellantis and was formed as part of the conglomerate’s EUR1.5 billion (~RM7.6 billion) deal with the Chinese automaker last October. The company will start the brand’s global expansion in Europe first this coming September.
After that, the JV aims to launch Leapmotor in other key markets throughout the world within Q4 2024 including Malaysia. The CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares has also confirmed that the vehicles will be sold as Leapmotor-branded models and are not going to be rebadged to other Stellantis brands.
Leapmotor entry into Malaysia will likely be led by C10 SUV
During today’s media briefing, Carlos highlighted two models that have been earmarked for global release including the C10. There is also the highly compact city EV, the T03 but we doubt that Leapmotor International will release it in Malaysia anytime soon due to the RM100,000 minimum price policy for fully imported Completely Built Up (CBU) new EVs that was set by MITI.
Over in China, the SUV can be obtained as a range-extender EV (REEV) or battery-powered EV (BEV). However, we expect that only the BEV variant of the C10 will be released in the global market given today’s announcement.
According to specifications on Leapmotor China’s website, the C10 is equipped with a rear-mounted electric motor that has a peak power of 170kW (228hp) alongside 320Nm of torque. This EV can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 7.29 seconds and has a top speed of 170km/h.
There are two battery options that customers can choose from in China including the 52.9kWh LFP battery allows the EV to deliver a CLTC-rated range of up to 410km. On the other hand, there is also the 69.9kWh option which can deliver up to 530km of range.
During his presentation today, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Leapmotor, Zhu Jiangming said that the global variant will have a WLTP-rated range of 420km. Hence, the global model may feature the 69.9kWh LFP battery.
When it comes to charging, Leapmotor China did not provide the exact charging power that the C10 can support. The company did say that it takes around 30 minutes to recharge the battery from 30% to 80% through DC charging regardless of the variant.
As for AC charging though, it takes around 5 hours to get the variant with 52.9kWh battery to go from 30% to 80%. For the 69.9kWh variant, it takes over 6 hours to reach a similar level.
Price-wise, the C10 with 52.9kWh battery goes for CNY128,800 (~RM84,005) while the version with 69.9kWh battery ranges from CNY138,800 (~RM90,537) to CNY168,800 (~RM110,111). Of course, don’t expect the electric SUV to be priced that low once it arrives in Malaysia though.
Leapmotor C10 will be fighting in a very competitive segment of the market
Being a five-seater SUV with 220hp and a WLTP-rated range of 420km, the C10 will be competing in the highly competitive segment of the market. Among the rivals that are waiting on the horizon include BYD Atto 3, Chery Omoda E5, and Neta X.
Not to forget, there is the Peugeot E-2008 in the pipeline as well. With that, Stellantis and Leapmotor need to consider their options carefully.
