Leapmotor will reveal its new B05 – a Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Corolla-sized hatchback – at the 2025 Munich motor show next month, and it could be bound for Australia.
The B05 will be the third ‘B-Series’ model from the Chinese brand, joining the Tesla Model 3-rivalling B01 sedan revealed at the Shanghai show in China last April and the B10 small SUV launched overseas earlier this year and confirmed for Australia.
While not yet confirmed for Australia, the B05 will use the ‘Leap 3.5’ 800V architecture, an evolution of the Leap 3.0 platform used in the C10 mid-size SUV and which is used on an updated C10 yet to come here.
The C10 launched the Leapmotor brand in Australia and remains the only model in showrooms so far. It currently uses a 400V architecture.
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Above: Leapmotor B10
While few details have been revealed, the B05 is expected to have a similar exterior look and cabin theme as the C10, including a large 14.6-inch centre screen.
It’s also expected to use similar drivetrain components to the C10, which is offered here with a single 160kW/320Nm electric motor and 69.9kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery for a claimed 408km of WLTP range.
While confirmed as an electric vehicle (EV), the B05 could also be sold as a range-extender electric vehicle (EREV) with the C10 available with either powertrain in Australia from March 2025.
As an EV, it’s expected to be priced competitively against BYD Dolphin, MG 4 and GWM Ora electric hatchbacks, which in Australia start between $30,000 and $35,000 before on-roads.
EREV versions could be priced lower, like in the C10, which sees the EV cost a flat $2000 more across all model grades.
Australian-market B05s could come from a new Malaysia plant scheduled to open in Gurun, Kedah, in the country’s northwest by the end of 2025.
Like China and Thailand, Australia has a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia, with the plant set to manufacture the C10.
Yet like the city-sized T03 electric hatch – the brand’s best-seller in Europe – the B05 may be produced in Poland given its European customer focus.
Above: Leapmotor C10
Leapmotor launched in Europe only two months before its November 2024 Australian arrival, a key market for the company’s ambitions – bolstered by its first ever half-yearly profit in 2025.
Its success comes as Stellantis, with which it has a 51:49 joint venture called Leapmotor International, faces global headwinds including tariffs in the US.
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