The Stellantis-backed Chinese automaker Leapmotor will unveil the B05 full-electric compact hatchback at the Munich IAA auto show next month, CFO Li TengFei said.
The B05 will join the related B10 compact SUV in Europe next year as part of a broader model push, Li told analysts on Leapmotor’s second-quarter earnings call Aug. 18.
The new model is a hatchback version of the B01 sedan unveiled at the Shanghai auto show in April and will compete against compact EVs such as the Volkswagen ID3, MG4, Cupra Born and BYD Dolphin.
Leapmotor sold 8,311 cars in Europe in the first six months of the year, according to preliminary figures from market analyst Dataforce. The biggest seller was the T03 electric minicar at 5,870, the figures show, followed by the C10 midsize SUV.
The company’s export arm, Leapmotor International, a joint venture with Stellantis, aims to sell 50,000-60,000 cars globally this year, mostly in Europe, Li said.
Stellantis holds a 20 percent stake in the overall Leapmotor company. Stellantis bought the stake in 2023 for €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion).
Also on the earnings call, Li said Leapmotor’s full-year global vehicle sales guidance had been increased to 580,000-650,000, based on the company’s outlook for the third and fourth quarters. That is up from a previous target of 500,000 to 600,000 units.
The company expects that growth in Europe may double next year, Li said. “The overall speed of growth has been done in China. We believe overseas, we can do it the same,” he said.
The company’s European performance in the second half of the year will be boosted by the B10, which went on sale in late July starting at €29,900. European deliveries start in September.
The B10 and B05 are expected to be almost identical under the skin, sharing a rear-mounted electric motor and offering either a 56- or 67-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.
The more aerodynamic hatchback is expected to improve on the B10’s maximum range of 434 km (270 miles).
An extended-range version with a combustion engine could also be offered following the global launch of the B10 REEV model. The extended-range B10 will launched “by the end of the year or next year” to join the C10 REEV that went on sale in Europe from April, Li said.
Production of the B05, which goes on sale in China in November, could be localized in Europe starting next year as part of Leapmotor’s plan to avoid EU tariffs on its more popular electric models. Li spoke of plans to localize “B-series” models in Europe from 2026, without being specific.
The B10 is expected to be built first, possibly at Stellantis’s plant in Zaragoza in northeast Spain.
Leapmotor later this year will launch the first in a range of larger D-Series models including an SUV and minivan, Li said, describing the first as a “blockbuster product.” Following that next year will be the first in range of small cars on a new A-badged platform, Li said.
Leapmotor swung to a profit in the first half of 2025 after sales surged, making it only the second of the Chinese “new-energy” electric-focused vehicle startups to hit that target, Li said on the call.
Li Auto is the only other automaker in the group, that includes Xpeng and Nio, to achieve a profit. Xiaomi is profitable, but electric cars so far remain a small part of the company’s wider consumer electronics business.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
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