Stellantis-backed Leapmotor has launched an electric midsize sedan that offers similar features to Tesla’s Model 3 at less than half the price. The Hangzhou-based electric vehicle (EV) builder said the B01, priced from CNY89,800 in mainland China, would target markets around the world as it pursued new growth engines amid cutthroat competition at home. “We are offering our answer to customers’ demand for an exquisite, value-for-money mass market car,” Cao Li, Leapmotor’s Senior Vice President, told a press conference in Hangzhou. “We are confident that the new car has largely exceeded market expectations.” Deliveries to mainland Chinese customers would begin this month, but the company did not say when the new car would be sold overseas. Leapmotor developed the new model based on its upgraded architecture, known as Leap3.5, which supports smart driving and fast charging.
The five variants of the B01 have driving ranges from 430 km to 650 km, with the top-end model priced at CNY119,800. The batteries can offer about 300 km of driving with 18 minutes of charging. The B01 is also fitted with lidar sensors to enhance the capabilities of its driver assistance system. The Shanghai-made Tesla Model 3, whose basic version can travel up to 635 km on a single charge, is priced from CNY235,500 to CNY339,500. “The B01 has become yet another stern challenger to Tesla’s Model 3 in China, following Xpeng’s Mona M03,” said Phate Zhang, Founder of Shanghai-based data provider CnEVPost. “Chinese-developed electric cars are likely to eat into Tesla’s share in foreign markets given their attractive prices.” The Mona M03, a midsize, fully electric sedan that hit the market last August, is a rival to the Model 3, offering smart features such as a preliminary autonomous driving system. Shipments of the M03, priced from CNY119,800 to CNY159,800, rose 29.5% month-on-month to 14,111 in June. In comparison, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory built 16,636 Model 3s for mainland customers in June, down 20.4% from a month earlier.
Less than 10% of China’s EV brands will turn a profit in the next five years, as the industry grapples with a price war and chronic overcapacity, according to AlixPartners. However, there is an opportunity to increase exports to overseas markets where they could reap higher profit margins, according to Nick Lai, head of Asia-Pacific vehicle research at JPMorgan. Leapmotor broke its own sales record for the second consecutive month after it delivered 48,006 vehicles in June, up 6.5% from the previous month. In the first half of the year, the carmaker shipped a total of 221,664 units, up 156% year-on-year. The company has set a 2025 full-year target of 500,000 units, the South China Morning Post reports.
