Leapmotor will launch a new electric supermini to rival the Renault 5 and Volkswagen ID Polo later this year – and Autocar has spied it testing for the first time.
The new B03 is set to be revealed in China (where it will be known at the A05) in full in May, having first surfaced in government filings last month.
It's likely to reach the UK market in early 2027 as a sibling to the forthcoming B03X crossover, which is due here late this year, and the two will share the Chinese firm’s new entry-level A platform.
Leapmotor’s cars are sold internationally through a joint venture with Western car-making giant Stellantis.
A prototype version of the B03 spotted in China was clothed in camouflage wrap, but the rounded styling and headlights hinted at a clear family resemblance with the B03X. Befitting its supermini brief, it appears slightly shorter and lower than its crossover sibling.
The car we spotted featured lidar sensors so that it could test ‘level two plus plus’ semi-autonomous functionality, which is legal in China but won’t be offered in the UK.
Technically, the B03 is set to be similar to the B03X. It will have a front-mounted motor and two-wheel-drive, with a choice of 94bhp and 121bhp outputs. If it matches the B03X, there will be a choice of 39.8kWh and 53kWh batteries, both using lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry.
The higher-powered B03X can do 250 miles between charges with the larger battery, and the sleeker B03 is likely to exceed that, which could give it one of the longest ranges of any car in its class.
Its interior will also closely match other Leapmotor models', with most of the controls run through a large central touchscreen.
Pricing for the B03 isn't yet finalised but, given Leapmotor’s pricing strategy for other models, it could significantly undercut its Renault and Volkswagen rivals, potentially starting below £20,000.
