![\"Leapmotor](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/leapmotor-b01-the-stylish-electric-saloon-designed-for-young-drivers.jpg\" "\\"Leapmotor")
<\/a><\/p>\nNew Citro\u00ebn e-C4-rivalling electric saloon has not been ruled out for a European launch<\/p>\n
Leapmotor, the Chinese EV start-up partnered with Stellantis, has revealed a compact electric saloon aimed at younger buyers – and it has not ruled out a European launch.<\/p>\n
Twinned with the Kia Sportage<\/a>-sized Leapmotor B10<\/a>\u00a0crossover that is due in UK showrooms later this year, the Leapmotor<\/a> B01\u00a0is a five-door fastback of a similar size to the Mercedes-Benz CLA<\/a> and Audi A3<\/a> Sportback.<\/p>\n It has\u00a0only been revealed in Chinese guise so far \u2013 complete with roof-mounted Lidar sensor \u2013 but Leapmotor has pledged to have a six-model line-up in the UK<\/a> by 2027, so could bring the B01\u00a0here to join the T03 supermini<\/a>, B10 crossover and C10 SUV<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Leapmotor official told Autocar the company is assessing the viability of small saloon sales in Europe, but noted that demand for such cars has fallen in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Technical details are yet to be fully revealed, but Leapmotor touts a \u2018segment-leading\u2019 range of 404 miles (650km) – though that is according to China\u2019s CLTC test cycle which tends to be more generous than Europe\u2019s WLTP system, so expect that to translate to a figure in the mid-350s.<\/p>\n The battery chemistry and capacity have not yet been confirmed, but the B01 owes its long range, in part, to its sleek fastback silhouette; with a drag coefficient of just 0.197, it is slipperier than even the Porsche Taycan<\/a> and Tesla Model S<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking at the car\u2019s Shanghai motor show<\/a> debut, Leapmotor senior vice president said the B01 was designed to respond to \u201cwhat young consumers really want from a car\u201d.<\/p>\n He said that \u201cfor young people who perceive taste\u201d, the current offering of similarly sized and priced alternatives in China \u2013 predominantly aimed at ride-hailing services \u2013 is currently \u201cnot enough\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey want good features and quality – they want it all!\u201d<\/p>\n The B01 is set to be priced from the equivalent of roughly \u00a315,000 in China, but if exported to Europe would cost considerably more – likely in the mid-\u00a320,000s, where it would serve as a rival to the likes of the Citro\u00ebn e-C4<\/a>, Renault 5<\/a> and MG 4<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As standard, it comes with contrasting black trim, sporting-inspired alloy wheel designs, a choice of two interior colours, a 14.6in touchscreen with over-the-air updates, and chrome elements which Leapmotor says are \u201cfrom suppliers of the same level as Mercedes-Benz<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other notable features include a 256-colour ambient lighting system, a hidden 70-litre \u2018magic expansion space\u2019 beneath the 460-litre boot, and a tissue box in the back of the centre console – a nod to the importance of rear seat refinement in China.<\/p>\n Confirmation of the B01\u2019s powertrain specifications will be revealed closer to launch, but it has been confirmed to have a single motor on the back axle for rear-wheel drive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62104,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62098\/revisions\/62104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Leapmotor](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/leapmotor-b01-the-stylish-electric-saloon-designed-for-young-drivers-1.jpg\")
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