Jump for joy: New Leapmotor C16 could provide Aussie families with a cut-price seven seat battery-electric SUV

July 5, 2024July 5, 2024 John Mahoney 11115 Views C10, C16, Leapmotor, T03

Leapmotor has revealed full detail of its new flagship 2025 Leapmotor C16 family SUV that could offer a cut-price seven-seat SUV option for budget-conscious Australian buyers if its co-owner Stellantis decides to import it.

If the green light is given it would to join the electric mid-size C10 SUV when Leapmotor arrives before the end of 2024. The tiny C03 city car is a third possible local mode, but it also hasn’t been confirmed.

First seen at the Beijing show in May, the C16 is available with both hybrid and battery-electric powertrains in its home Chinese market, with the cheapest electrified petrols priced there from just $31,000.

Looking heavily-related to the smaller C10, the C16 measures up at 4915mm long, 1905mm wide and stands 1770mm tall, with a 2825mm wheelbase.

Inside, the C16 features a minimalist interior that combines a large 14.6-inch floating-effect infotainment screen and a smaller digital instrument cluster.

The most expensive (six-seater) versions come with tri-zone climate control, heated and ventilated seating for the first and second row, and a powerful 21-speaker stereo system that is combined with a large 15.6-inch rear entertainment screen.

In China the C16 is available with an advanced Lidar-backed semi-autonomous driving systems that have eyes-off-the-road Level 3 capability. But the tech is unlikely to be offered in Australia without a change of regulation.

Instead, our cars will come with a lesser Level 2+ system that will require the driver to monitor the car’s progress while in self-driving mode.

It’s not known if Stellantis plans to offer future Leapmotors with the same hybrid and EV powertrains offered in China, but if it does the cheapest C16 SUVs will be powered by 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid that features both a rear-mounted electric motor and 28.4kWh battery.

Combined output is 170kW and 320Nm of torque, which is enough to launch the big SUV from 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds and travel up to 200km on pure-electric power alone.

The all-electric C16, meanwhile, gets a single rear e-motor that produces 215kW and 360Nm.

Combined with a 67.7kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, Leapmotor claims a 520km driving range, based on the more lenient Chinese test cycle.

The EV version is also capable of hitting 100km/h from rest in a claimed 6.4sec.

The entry-level hybrid is priced from just 155,800 Chinese yuan ($31,300), the electric version starts at 161,800 yuan ($32,500).

Motivating Stellantis to snap up a $2.5 billion stake in the eight-year-old Leapmotor last year was the continued success of Chinese brands like BYD that have already broken through in markets like Europe and Australia with their range of affordable EVs.