The Leapmotor models will be available in South Africa by the end of 2025, utilizing Stellantis’ dealer network in that African country.
Leapmotor will debut in South Africa with a C10 SUV, in the hybrid variant with range extender, according to Mike Whitfield, managing director of Stellantis for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Leapmotor models will be available at selected Stellantis dealerships in South Africa starting in September, with more models, including fully electric vehicles, expected to be launched next year. Whitfield announced that Leapmotor’s launch in South Africa is a testament to Stellantis’ ongoing evolution.
The fourth largest automotive group in the world invested €1.5 billion in Leapmotor in 2023, acquiring about 20% of the capital, becoming the largest external shareholder of the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.
In May 2024, Leapmotor announced the official creation of Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis holds 51% of the capital and Leapmotor the remaining 49%. So far, the Leapmotor models available in international markets are two 100% electric models, the urban T03 and the C10 SUV.
However, in China, the brand already has new models, the SUVs C11, C16, and B10, as well as updated versions of the C10 and T03. It is already known that on Thursday, July 24, Leapmotor will launch the B01, a 100% electric sedan, in China.
However, the model with which Leapmotor will debut in South Africa is the C10 Range Extender Electric Vehicle (REEV), with an announced range of up to 970 kilometers, of which 145 km is in fully electric mode, and it features a larger battery than its 100% electric ‘brother.’
The four-cylinder, 1.5-liter gasoline combustion engine delivers 88 hp of power and comes into action when the 28.4 kWh battery is no longer charged, thus functioning as a generator to recharge the battery.
