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Following the launch of the second Leapmotor model in Australia, the B10, an all-wheel-drive version of the C10, could be on the horizon.
Leapmotor, a Chinese brand backed by Stellantis that launched in Australia late 2024, has teased the prospect of an all-wheel-drive version of the C10 to be launched in Australia.
The C10, which is currently only available as a rear-wheel drive in Australia, recently reached New Zealand shores with a larger 81.9kWh battery, more power, and an additional electric motor to drive the front wheels.
The New Zealand market has occasionally received models not sold in Australia. Still, Stellantis Australia senior product manager Rick Crichton said the Australian subsidiary has shown interest in the car.
“There are some other combinations of C10 that have recently become available for export outside of China. The C10 all-wheel drive is something we've been looking at,” said Crichton.
While no further details were shared for the model, the information from New Zealand examples is that the car will be fitted with an 81.9 kWh battery, up from 69.9kWh – boosting WLTP driving ranges from 420km in the current rear-wheel-drive (RWD) car to 437km with AWD.
While it is not a large increase, the dual-motor setup will also boost power outputs from 160kW to a claimed 446kW with a 0-100km/h time of 4.0 seconds.
Along with the larger battery and additional motor, Leapmotor appears to have upped the DC fast-charge rate from 84kW to 180kW, dropping eight minutes off the 30-80 per cent charge to 22 minutes.
The New Zealand model sees an increase of $NZD10,000 ($AU8500) over a similar-spec RWD model, and if Australia were to introduce a similar pricing structure, it would make the C10 AWD around $58,388 plus on-road costs.
If the C10 AWD were to land around that price it would put it in competition with a Tesla Model Y Premium RWD ($58,900), Kia EV5 Air ($56,770), and a Zeekr 7X RWD ($57,600).
Still, it will be the cheapest twin-motor EV of this size by around $5000 with the BYD Sealion 7 Performance being the next most affordable AWD EV SUV at $63,990 plus on-road costs.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
