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Electric & new energy vehicles
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Stellantis-backed Leapmotor cuts C10 SUV price by nearly a fifth as China’s EV war rolls on

  • The pure electric version of the C10 SUV starts at 128,800 yuan (US$17,897), 17.3 per cent lower than the presale price of 155,800 yuan
  • The C10 will be the company’s first model to be exported from the third quarter onwards, founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming says

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Leapmotor has joined the EV price war in China, pricing its C10 SUV at sharply lower prices than originally planned. Photo: Bloomberg
Daniel Renin Shanghai
Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker Leapmotor has joined the widening discount war on the mainland, pricing its new SUV nearly 20 per cent lower than originally planned.
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The C10, featuring autonomous driving technology and digital cockpit, will become affordable to more middle-income consumers as the Hangzhou-based carmaker enhances its production efficiency in the highly competitive market, according to Zhu Jiangming, founder and CEO of Leapmotor, in which Fiat owner Stellantis has a 20 per cent stake.

“We have been reiterating that Leapmotor prices its vehicles based on production costs,” he said at a media briefing on Saturday to announce the launch of the deliveries.

The pure electric version of the C10 starts at 128,800 yuan (US$17,897), 17.3 per cent lower than the presale price of 155,800 yuan in January. It has a driving range of 410 kilometres.

Robotic arms assemble cars at Leapmotor’s factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. Photo: China Daily via Reuters
Robotic arms assemble cars at Leapmotor’s factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. Photo: China Daily via Reuters

The price of the entry-level extended-range variant has been cut by 10.5 per cent to 135,800 yuan from 151,800 yuan. The car can go up to 210km on a single charge, with a 1.5-litre petrol engine acting as a range-extender.

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The C10 is also Leapmotor’s first model aimed at the global market, Zhu said. Exports to Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Africa will start in the third quarter of this year, he added.

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