Leapmotor T03 EV Makes European Debut – Malaysia Next?

Stellantis-owned Leapmotor makes its European debut by launching the Leapmotor T03 EV hatch.

Months since the establishment of its international arm, Stellantis-owned Leapmotor has finally made its European debut by launching the all-new Leapmotor T03. This small EV hatch makes its EU debut alongside the C10 EV SUV, both of which are part of the automaker’s international product lineup.

Given that the C10 EV is slated to make its Malaysian debut soon, we’re focusing solely on the T03 small EV hatch. Initially made its global debut in China back in 2020, the T03 is a pretty small EV hatch that will fit perfectly into Europe’s competitive city EV segment.

For context, this China-badged EV hatch only measures 3,620 MM long, making it slightly smaller than some popular EV superminis in the EU such as the Dacia Spring, as well as fellow Stellantis stablemate-cum-rival, the Fiat 500e.

Unlike its European-badged rivals, the T03 comes equipped with pretty decent standard equipment, with highlights including LED headlights, a 10.1-inch touch infotainment screen, an 8-inch digital instrument cluster, a panoramic sunroof, a rear-view camera, as well as a host of ADAS functions such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane-keeping assist (LKA), and blind-spot monitoring (BSM).

Unlike the Chinese market, the EU-spec T03 gets a bigger 37.3-kWh battery pack that provides the car with up to 265 KM of WLTP range.

For the European market, the T03 will get a 37.3-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, making it larger than the entry-level Fiat 500e’s 24-kWh unit. This pack is good enough to grant the T03 up to 265 KM of EV range (WLTP), which is perfect for usage around small European cities and urban areas.

Due to its small capacity, the T03 can also be charged in a relatively short time, with its 48 kW on-board DC charger enabling a 30-80% charge to be completed in 36 minutes, while its AC charging figure reads out at only 6.6 kW.

Said battery pack will be in charge of juicing up the T03’s single, front-mounted (FWD) e-motor setup that delivers 94 HP (70 kW) and 158 NM. This allows the city car to accelerate from 0-100 KM/H in 12.7 seconds. For reference, the 64 HP-rated Dacia Sprint only manages to complete the century sprint in 13.7 seconds.

Given the recent high tariffs imposed on China-made EVs by the EU, the European-spec Leapmotor T03 instead will be manufactured in Stellantis’ Tychy plant in Poland. Deliveries for the T03 are slated to commence later in 2025 in selected European markets, including the UK.

With the UK also being a right-hand-drive (RHD) market like Malaysia, there might be a chance that Stellantis Malaysia might offer this small EV hatch into our market. Should this be true, then the T03 won’t face any competition in our market, since the smallest EV hatch currently on sale here is the BYD Dolphin, which is significantly larger than the T03.