EV Market Analysis · The China Wave
Western makers killed the affordable hatchback — Ford axed the Focus and Fiesta, the VW Golf crept past $30K. Into that vacuum steps a Chinese car, the Leapmotor B05 (the Lafa 5 at home), built in Spain by a Stellantis joint venture to dodge tariffs, and priced thousands below the very European cars it out-specs. This isn’t a clone. It’s the replacement.
Elliot Richards, reviewing the China-spec car for Everything Electric, called it “the best hatchback on the market at the moment.” That’s a bold claim for a brand most Western buyers couldn’t name two years ago. But the numbers back the swagger — and they expose how badly legacy makers misread the small-EV segment.
The B05 rides on Leapmotor’s LEAP 3.0 architecture with Cell-to-Chassis (CTC) 2.0+ tech — the battery is structurally integrated, which buys cabin space and rigidity. A 67.1 kWh usable pack feeds a 160 kW (218 PS / 215 hp) rear motor, driving the back wheels for a 50:50 weight split. Zero to 62 mph takes 6.7 seconds. WLTP range is up to 300 miles (482 km); the China CLTC rating is 605 km, with the host estimating a realistic ~450 km in mixed driving.
Leapmotor B05 vs the cars it undercuts
In Italy the B05 starts at €26,900 — below the Renault Megane E-Tech by €11,450 and Stellantis’ own Peugeot E-308 by €13,080. A Chinese-designed car, undercutting the European establishment on its home turf.
Charging is genuinely quick: 174 kW peak, 30–80% in about 17 minutes (the host saw ~19). A hotter B05 Ultra is coming with 241 hp, lowered suspension, fatter anti-roll bars, and performance tires — explicitly aimed at the GTI crowd.
Here’s the clever part. The EU slapped steep tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, so Leapmotor assembles the B05 at Stellantis’ plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Local assembly sidesteps the tariff wall entirely — which is how a Chinese-designed hatch lands cheaper than a Peugeot. Leapmotor International is a Stellantis-led 51/49 joint venture that began European operations in September 2024 and now runs 79 UK retailers. The “invasion” isn’t a gray-market flood; it’s a Western sales network selling a Chinese platform.
The host’s core point is the uncomfortable one for legacy OEMs. Ford walked away from the Focus and Fiesta. VW let the Golf drift upmarket and expensive. The affordable, fun, practical hatchback — the thing a young first-time EV buyer actually wants — simply stopped existing in Europe. Leapmotor built exactly that, and Stellantis’ chassis engineers co-tuned the suspension for European roads, borrowing Fiat’s small-car know-how.
| Spec | Leapmotor B05 (67.1 kWh) |
|---|---|
| Battery / range | 67.1 kWh usable · up to 300 mi WLTP (482 km) |
| Motor / drive | 215 hp (160 kW) rear motor, RWD, 50:50 weight |
| 0–62 mph | 6.7 s |
| DC charging | 174 kW peak, 30–80% in ~17 min |
| Boot | 345 L seats up / 1,400 L folded (EU spec) |
| Price (UK) | £28,995 with LEAP-GRANT (£30,495 OTR) |
| Price (China) | ¥90,800–114,800 (~$13,300–16,800) |
Inside, the host was genuinely surprised: Nappa-style eco-leather, Alcantara, a 14.6-inch 2.5K touchscreen, an 8.8-inch cluster, a self-developed 12-speaker audio system, 21 driver-assistance systems (Level 2), and a neat trick where the vent bezels flash orange then red as you reverse toward an obstacle. The kit list reads like a car twice the price.
It’s not flawless. The steering feels “woolly” — soft and short on feedback — though that’s forgivable in an affordable runabout. Some interior bits (speaker grilles, the optional clip-in table) are budget-grade plastic. And the China-spec UI in the tested car wasn’t in English. None of that undercuts the value thesis; it just confirms where the pennies went.
The bigger question is strategic. A Chinese brand, built in a Spanish Stellantis plant, undercutting Stellantis’ own Peugeot on price while matching it on spec, is the clearest signal yet that the affordable-EV center of gravity has shifted east. Western makers didn’t lose this segment to clones. They abandoned it, and someone else showed up.
Yes — the EU-spec B05 is assembled at Stellantis’ Figueruelas plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Local assembly lets it avoid the EU tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, which is a big reason it can undercut the VW ID.3, Renault Megane E-Tech, and Peugeot E-308 on price.
Strongly. 215 hp and 6.7s 0–62 mph, up to 300 mi WLTP, 17-minute 30–80% charging, and a 345/1,400 L boot — at £28,995 in the UK. That’s more range and similar pace to rivals costing €9,000–€13,000 more in Europe.
No. It’s an original Chinese EV maker (founded 2015) now distributed via a Stellantis-led joint venture. The B05 uses Leapmotor’s own LEAP 3.0 platform and Cell-to-Chassis tech. The “invasion” framing is really about a Chinese platform filling a segment Western legacy brands stopped serving.
If you want GTI-rival pace, the B05 Ultra (241 hp, lowered suspension, performance tires, bigger brakes) is on the way and explicitly targets that class. The standard car is the value play; the Ultra is the one for enthusiasts.
