Affordable Chinese electric SUV getting 436kW all-wheel drive flagship

The Leapmotor C10 is one of Australia’s cheapest electric SUVs, but it’s about to get a huge bump in power.

Debuting at the Zurich motor show in October, the Leapmotor C10 Design 81.9kWh AWD packs a whopping 436kW of power from its dual-motor electric powertrain.

That gives the new flagship all-wheel drive version of the mid-size electric SUV a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of just four seconds, down from 7.5 seconds for Australia’s current single-motor rear-wheel drive variants.

A lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with capacity of 81.9kWh – as the vehicle’s name indicates – powers the electric motors.

This is up from a 69.9kWh unit in the current Australian-market C10 EV, which offers 420km of range on the WLTP cycle.

We’ve contacted Leapmotor Australia to confirm if the more powerful C10 is coming Down Under.

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Above and below: Leapmotor C10 EV

Earlier this year, Chinese government certification filings showed the standard rear-wheel drive C10 would move from a 160kW or 170kW (depending on the market) electric motor to one producing 220kW for model year 2026.

Additionally, the mid-size electric SUV is adopting a new 800V electrical system, allowing for faster charging.

This features in the new C10 Design 81.9kWh AWD variant, too.

Founded in 2015, Chinese automaker Leapmotor subsequently established a joint venture with Jeep and Peugeot parent Stellantis in 2023 called Leapmotor International to expand the brand’s global reach.

Launched in Australia last year, the C10 is the brand’s debut product in our market.

The C10 is currently priced from $45,888 before on-roads in electric guise, with the REEV Ultra Hybrid – an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) – priced from $45,990 drive-away.

Despite being such a new model, it’s one of the few models on sale in Australia without Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, as the car’s LEAP 3.0 architecture can’t support the popular smartphone mirroring platforms.

Leapmotor has said the C10 won’t get smartphone mirroring functionality until a mid-life update or a new-generation model, when the car’s architecture is changed to the LEAP 3.5 platform. A timeframe for this hasn’t been provided yet.

Above: C10 REEV

Despite being one of the most affordable electric SUVs on the market, C10 sales haven’t been grand despite the addition of a segment-first EREV variant in March.

To the end of July, Leapmotor has delivered 352 examples of the C10 in Australia. The rival Geely EX5, of which deliveries only began in March, is outselling it dramatically with 2335 delivered so far this year.

The C10 is ahead of the Deepal S07 on the sales charts, though for the first several months of this year its sales weren’t recorded in monthly VFACTS reports.

MORE: Explore the Leapmotor C10 showroom