Leapmotor to skip major Chinese-market update for B10 SUV

Leapmotor International will skip the latest Chinese-market B10 update, including its new 800V electrical architecture, larger batteries and a major cabin technology upgrade.

The decision means markets outside China will continue with the recently launched international B10 for now, rather than adopting a substantial update released little more than a year after the SUV first went on sale in its home market.

Speaking with media, including CarExpert, at the international launch of the Leapmotor B03X in Spain, Leapmotor International commercial head for Enlarged Europe Danilo Annese said the updated B10 would be "completely skipped by Leapmotor International".

The original B10 went on sale in China in April 2025. An updated model followed in July 2026, illustrating the pace at which Chinese automakers are now changing their vehicles.

Lower Chinese grades moved from a 56.2kWh battery to a 60.8kWh lithium iron phosphate pack, increasing claimed range to 540km on the more lenient CLTC cycle. Higher grades adopted an 800V electrical architecture and a 69.7kWh battery, with up to 610km of claimed CLTC range.

The 800V models can charge from 30 to 80 per cent in a claimed 16 minutes, compared with 21 minutes for the previous 400V versions. The flagship also gained a rear-mounted motor producing 185kW of power and 260Nm of torque, cutting the claimed 0-100km/h time to 6.4 seconds.

Inside, the Chinese update brought a revised dashboard featuring a 17.3-inch central touchscreen and an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, along with a 55-inch augmented-reality head-up display.

Australia's current B10 was launched late in 2025 and remains on a 400V architecture. Electric variants use 56.2kWh and 67.1kWh batteries and a rear-mounted motor producing 160kW of power and 240Nm of torque. Claimed WLTP range is 361km or 434km, depending on the variant.

Mr Annese said Leapmotor International had no intention of replacing a vehicle that customers outside China were only beginning to understand.

"We just launched the B10," he said.

He said the 800V architecture was worthwhile technology, and didn't rule it out for a later international B10, but questioned the value of changing the vehicle so soon after its overseas introduction.

The decision reflects a broader difference between the Chinese and international new-car markets.

Mr Annese said Chinese customers respond quickly to new products and frequent updates, while Europe is overwhelmingly a replacement market where vehicles are commonly financed or leased. Introducing a materially better version every few months can confuse customers and weaken the value of the model they have just bought.

That concern is also relevant in Australia, where rapid hardware changes and sharp price reductions by some newer brands have left existing owners with an older specification much sooner than they expected.

Leapmotor International won't reject every update developed in China. Mr Annese said it would adopt changes that materially improve a vehicle or address a hardware issue that can't be resolved through an over-the-air software update.

However, when a change is relatively minor, or another more substantial update is already approaching, it may wait and take the later version instead.

Leapmotor Australia's next B10 model-year specification has not been separately confirmed. However, the international decision means the latest Chinese 800V update isn't part of the immediate export rollout.

Leapmotor can continue improving the B10 through software, but its larger batteries, more powerful motor, 800V charging system and redesigned cabin will remain China-only for now.

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