The Leapmotor T03 is probably the best affordable small electric car currently being sold in China. Not only it has a decent 403 km NEDC range (around 300 km in WLTP), fast charging via CCS, OTA (over-the-air) updates, it’s also full of safety features that are extremely rare in its segment
Safety features that can prevent accidents, such as AEB (Automatic Braking System), LKA (Lane Keeping Assist), ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) and a ADS (Automated Driving System) called Leap Pilot 2.0.
While initially this electric car was only available with a 38 kWh NCM battery and a modest 27 kW (55 kW peak) motor, later on it became available also with a cheaper cobalt-free 41 kWh LFP (LiFePO4) battery and a more powerful 50 kW (80 kW peak) motor.
Unfortunately, nowadays production still can’t meet all demand there is for this great small electric car. Not only due to the global shortage of microprocessors, but also batteries - that temporarily tend to go almost exclusively into more expensive and lucrative models…
However, the good news is that according to the MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China) the Leapmotor T03 now has at least 3 LFP battery suppliers, they are:
- CATL
- SVOLT
- Guoxuan
This smart strategy of not relying on a sole battery supplier, means that Leapmotor is aiming to increase production to levels where it can actually meet the current high domestic demand. Only then, foreign markets will be an option.
Soon, when battery cell formats become completely standardized, having different battery suppliers for the same model will be a no-brainer to most automakers.
Anyway, the Leapmotor T03 is currently available in 5 variants, where the cheapest starts at 59.800 yuan (8.021 euros) and the most expensive starts at 76.800 yuan (10.301 euros). I think that this kind of electric car would be a success in Europe and maybe Australia.
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