China’s Leapmotor brings latest extended-range EV

From the newsletter

Leapmotor, a Chinese company backed by Stellantis, has introduced its C10 extended-range electric vehicle this month, highlighting confidence in South Africa’s potential as an electric vehicle hub. Additional models are expected to be launched in 2026. South Africa is Leapmotor’s third market in Africa. The company is also in Morocco and Mauritius.  

• The C10 joins the BMW i3 Rex, Rox 01 and Huawei Avatr 11 Ultra Extended-Range as some of the major extended-range EVs being sold in Africa. The BMW 13 is one of the most sold EVs in South Africa.

• Extended-range EVs have a small petrol or diesel engine on board, called a range extender. It acts like a generator, producing electricity to recharge the battery or power the motor when the battery is low, giving extra driving range. 

• Our take: Unless prices reduce, EV sales will remain limited in Africa, even for those that have range extending capabilities…Read more (2 min)

More details

• The Leapmotor C10 REEV, a medium-sized, front-wheel drive SUV, features a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 215 hp electric motor, offering a combined range of up to 1,150 km. It has a 28.4 kWh battery, can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 8.5 seconds, and supports both AC and DC fast charging. The company says that with DC fast charging technology, the C10 REEV recovers 50% of its electric range in just 18 minutes. 

• Ordinary EVs, or battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the cheapest to manufacture once batteries get big enough, since there’s no engine. Plug-in hybrids tend to be slightly more expensive than BEVs of similar size, because they need both a full engine and a decent-sized battery and motor. Meanwhile, extended-range EVs usually sit between BEVs and PHEVs in price, sometimes closer to BEVs, sometimes closer to PHEVs, depending on the battery size. 

• In Africa, BEVs like the Nissan Leaf are often imported as second-hand at a price of between $15,000 and $40,000. PHEVs like the Toyota Prius plug-in, Outlander PHEV, XC90 PHEV are often pricier, costing between $25,000 and $60,0000. The price of the C10 is estimated at $43,000 in South Africa. 

• At the same time, the BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs are treated differently by African countries, leading to further cost differences. For example, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria often tax hybrids differently than BEVs. Sometimes BEVs get lower duties, making them cheaper to land despite higher sticker prices. EREVs are often misclassified and treated as hybrids and not pure EVs, which raises duty costs. 

• Leapmotor is just one of the many EV companies that have entered Africa in recent years. The majority of them come from China, the world’s largest EV producer. This week, we reported that IM Motors, a joint venture between SAIC Motor and Chinese technology companies Alibaba Group and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech, has entered Egypt, its first market in Africa. Similarly, China’s Jinxiu Shanhe last week signed a deal with a Moroccan company to export 500 utility electric cars to the North African country. 

• BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs will all play a major role in transitioning Africa’s transport sector from its reliance on fuel vehicles. However, prices of these new energy vehicles will have to continue on its current decline to become viable for the majority of African buyers. The continent has low purchasing power, which means that the majority of buyers go for cheaper used vehicles. 

Our take

• Given Africa's vast distances and varying levels of charging infrastructure development, vehicles with range-extending capabilities, such as EREVs and PHEVs, could gain significant traction. 

• As more manufacturers enter the market and compete for a share, the prices of new energy vehicles are expected to continue their decline. This competition is essential to make them a viable alternative to cheaper used fuel vehicles. 

• The discrepancy in how different African countries tax EREVs and other EV types needs to be addressed. As the variety of new energy vehicles on the continent grows, governments should refine and standardize their import duties and tax structures.