Leapmotor T03 set for UK launch and battle with Dacia Spring at £16k
The chinese electric car maker will launch the T03 in late 2024
Leapmotor will sell its T03, a tiny all-electric city car that goes toe-to-toe with the recently updated Dacia Spring, alongside its big C10 SUV in the UK.
With orders opening in October, the first deliveries of the T03 are scheduled to arrive in the UK in December. At £15,995, the T03 sits between the £14,995 Dacia Spring Expression and the £16,995 Extreme. Leapmotor’s car won’t have any trim levels to choose from at launch however. The T03 will also have to contend with the BYD Seagull, which is arriving here in 2025.
The T03’s electric powertrain was developed solely by Leapmotor and features a 37.3kWh battery offering 165 miles of range - 25 miles more than you get in the Dacia. Leapmotor says the battery is constantly managed by a cloud-based system to help it operate at an optimal temperature.
At 1,203kg, the T03 is a little heavier than the Spring, but it has more power, with the front-mounted electric motor providing 95bhp and 158Nm of torque. That helps it to beat the Spring’s 13.7secs 0-62mph time by 1.7 seconds.
A 3,620mm length and 1,652mm width means the T03 is shorter and narrower than the Spring, although its 1,577m height makes it 61mm taller. As a result the boot capacity stands at 210 litres compared to the Spring’s 308-litre boot.
Charging for the T03 tops out at 48kW, which is a relatively slow rate of charge for a modern EV. The tiny battery means a 30 to 80 per cent top up will take only 36 minutes however. Leapmotor will also fit an onboard 6.6kW charger for the same recharge in 3.5 hours.
The Leapmotor T03 might cost more than the base-spec Dacia Spring, but it’s better-equipped. There’s a panoramic sunroof with an electric sunshade, an eight-inch LCD instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch central touchscreen, sat-nav, voice control, 4G connectivity and air conditioning.
What will give Leapmotor a headstart in the UK and European markets is it being partly owned by Stellantis – the automotive giant that runs an army of brands, ranging from Vauxhall, Jeep and Citroen, to Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
The target figure for Leapmotor dealers in the UK has yet to be determined, but Stellantis is hoping to have 500 “points of sales” for the brand across Europe by 2026.
The Leapmotor T03 models sold in the UK will be built in Europe, reportedly in the same Stellantis plant in Poland where the Jeep Avenger, Alfa Romeo Junior and Fiat 600 are produced. Meanwhile the larger Leapmotor C10 SUV will be imported from China.
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