Leapmotor is “seriously considering” the sportier variant of its new electric hatch for Australia, and even more Ultra variants might be on the cards.
Electric Cars
Leapmotor's new B05 electric hatchback is hitting Australian shores later this year, and its sportier 'Ultra' variant could follow ahead of potentially more performance-orientated variants of other models.
Leapmotor International’s global head of brand strategy, product and marketing Francesco Giacalone said the brand is “seriously considering” introducing the sportier variant of its new electric hatch to international markets, but nothing is yet confirmed.
“The Ultra in this moment we are studying, and that was really the interesting feedback that we're getting from media, from you guys testing the car, deciding when and if, region by region," Giacalone said.
"Because the C hatch [small hatchback] is not everywhere super popular as a segment. It is in contraction versus the C SUV [mid-sized SUV].
"But with the Ultra version, there is probably some brand positioning, brand statement, that could work for us. So we're seriously considering it everywhere.”
The B05 Ultra has a claimed 180kW of power and 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.9 seconds. A step above the highest-spec B05, which claims 160kW and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 7.9 seconds.
Giacalone said if the B05 Ultra proves successful, it could open the door for more sporty ‘Ultra’ variants of other Leapmotor vehicles.
“It depends on the silhouette that we will introduce. Of course on the C hatch it's very natural. Maybe we will consider [an Ultra variant] for a B hatch, which is a small, little, almost a rally vehicle like [the] B03, that could work," Giacalone said.
"I would say it could be a stream if we see that the Ultra has a good grip.... the [B05 Ultra] presentation in Beijing got quite, quite positive feedback."
But Giacalone said if the brand explored more Ultra variants, they would remain under the Leapmotor brand, not spinning off into a performance sub-brand.
“[We’re] not creating a sub-brand, not creating any fancy stuff, it's Leapmotor.” Giacalone said.
Spinning off performance or luxury variants of cars into their own brands is not uncommon among automotive brands. Toyota recently spun off its GR performance brand into its own unique marque, rebranding it from ‘Toyota Gazoo Racing’ to simply ‘Gazoo Racing’.
The Chinese market version of the B05 Ultra is priced at around $AUD25,320 (CNY 123,800) for the claimed 500km range variant, and $AUD26,545 (CNY 129,800) for the 600km variant.
No international pricing has been announced for the B05 Ultra. However, recently-announced pricing for the base B05 model in Europe is €26,900 ($AUD44,010).
While Leapmotor is a Chinese car brand, its vehicles are distributed internationally by Stellantis, the parent company of numerous legacy brands including Peugeot, Jeep, Maserati, and Fiat.
In markets outside China, Leapmotor vehicle sales are handled by Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis owns 51 per cent and Leapmotor owns 49 per cent.
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Max is the News Publishing Coordinator for Drive. He enjoys creating engaging digital content, including videos, podcasts, interactive maps, and graphs. Prior to Drive, he studied at Monash University and gained experience working for various publications. He grew up playing Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2 and was disappointed when real life car races didn’t have the same physics.
