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Leapmotor will reveal the B05 hatchback, an electric rival to the Volkswagen Golf, at the Munich motor show next month.

The new model is one of three cars – the others being another hatchback and a small SUV – that will arrive within the next two years as Leapmotor grows its global line-up.

Confirmed to Autocar by the Stellantis-backed Chinese firm, the B05 will be a compact relation of the B01 saloon that was revealed earlier this year.

Its arrival will give Leapmotor a footing in the hotly contested electric hatchback segment, which is dominated by the likes of the Volkswagen ID 3, Cupra Born and MG 4 EV.

Not long before then, the firm will launch the B10, a crossover to rival the likes of the Ford Explorer and Peugeot e-3008.

In Europe, Leapmotor currently sells the T03 city car and C10 mid-size SUV.

The B05 and C10 will ride on the same platform (dubbed Leap 3.5) and are expected to offer the same claimed 650km (404-mile) range. 

There's no word on pricing yet, but Leapmotor's focus on offering high levels of technology and equipment at an accessible price – summarised by its slogan 'Excellence within reach' – means the B05 is likely to come in at sub-£30,000.

Earlier this year, Leapmotor revealed that it plans to have a six-car line-up in the UK by 2027.

It remains unclear if Leapmotor will offer any of them with the range-extender powertrain that it has just introduced to the C10, with bosses suggesting they will be gauging market reaction to the technology.

The B05 is likely to share its siblings' main design cues, including wraparound light bars, sporting-inspired wheel designs and an aerodynamically optimised silhouette.

Inside, it's set to receive the same 14.6in infotainment touchscreen and focus on high-quality materials.  

Those attributes will also be carried over to a forthcoming entry-level crossover to sit beneath the B10 as a rival to the Renault 4 and Jeep Avenger, dubbed the A10.

That car will then spawn its own low-riding hatchback sibling, called the A05. This entry-level model, which could be priced below £20,000, will go up against the Fiat Grande Panda, Citroën ë-C3 and Skoda Epiq. 

Leapmotor's range expansion comes off the back of rapid growth for the 10-year-old brand, both in its Chinese home market and internationally.

It now has nearly 1500 retail sites worldwide and was the 11th most popular EV brand globally last year.

It aims to move up to ninth this year, then to seventh in 2026, ultimately aiming to become one of the world's five top EV brands. 

We’re a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, and in the last 25 years the car industry – and the cars we drive on the roads – have undergone a dramatic transformation. So for an upcoming special issue of Autocar we’ve decided to celebrate the 25 most significant cars of the past 25 years.

The Autocar team has drawn up a list, featuring one car from every year from 2001 until 2025. We weren’t looking for the best, fastest or biggest-selling: we’ve judged them purely by the impact they had on their firms, the industry and car buyers.

You’ll be able to read our picks in a special Autocar feature in September, but we’re keen to hear what you think the most significant car from the past quarter century is.

Is it the huge-selling Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf? A groundbreaking EV such as the Nissan Leaf or Tesla Model 3? The record-setting Bugatti Veyron or Lotus Evija? A retro comeback hit like the Mini hatch or Fiat 500? Or a high-riding sales smash such as the BMW X5 or Kia Sportage?

Let us know what car you’d pick and why in the comments, and we’ll run some of the best as part of our special feature.