Chinese brand Leapmotor has been confirmed for the New Zealand market. Its first offering will be the C10 all-electric SUV. And it’ll be here soon, the debut marked down for December. The C10, a ‘family-sized SUV’, is described as the brand’s inaugural entry into New Zealand, so expect more models in time.
Leapmotor will be represented here by Auto Distributors New Zealand, which also looks after the Peugeot, Citroen and Opel brands.
The C10 uses a single, rear-mounted 160kW/320Nm motor and draws from a 69.9kWh lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) battery pack. The driving range is quoted at up to 420km WLTP. The maximum DC charge rate is 84kW, AC is up to 6.6kW. Both mode 2 and mode 3 charging cables are included, as is Vehicle-to-Load capability. There are four drive modes, and three levels of motor regen, including a one-pedal mode.
The C10 is Leapmotor’s first global product and is based on the LEAP 3.0 platform, said to be the result of eight years of in-house development. It uses Cell-to-Chassis tech to aid rigidity, safety and space, and has Over the Air capabilities to keep software up to date. Apparently the suspension has been tuned by Maserati.
Read about the Leapmotor T03 city car
You’ll have to be patient Grasshopper, expect those vital details in good time.
The C10 will be well specified however. One model variant will be offered initially with 20-inch wheels, a 14.6-inch screen and 17 driver-assistance system features including a 360-degree camera. Other items include heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, wireless charging pad, ambient lighting and a glass roof. The seats are clad in faux leather and there is a 10-inch driver instrument display. There is a Leapmotor app which features smartphone Bluetooth key support, real-time car location, and remote air-conditioning control. An NFT keycard is another feature. Along with a four-year, 100,000km warranty on the vehicle, the battery pack is covered for 8-years/160,000km.
Boot space measures up at a quoted 581L, expanding to 1410 when the second-row seats are folded. The interior offers 26 storage spaces and 180-degree flat-fold seating.
Some other vitals stats include an overall length of 4739mm, a braked tow rating of 1500kg, 0-100km/h is said to take 7.5sec and energy consumption is rated at 19.8kWh/100km.
Leapmotor will have dealerships in the main centres, with locations announced later this month.
Leapmotor was established in 2015, and is described as a ‘technology-driven intelligent electric vehicle (EV) company’. Apparently, founder Zhu Jiangming, is an electrical engineer who has over 30 years of technical experience. Leapmotor is headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, and its business scope covers electric vehicle design, research and development, manufacturing, intelligent driving, electric motor control, battery system development, as well as cloud computing-based vehicle networking solutions.
