Leapmotor's MG4 rival is cleared for Australia. Now we wait on price.

Leapmotor has cleared the regulatory gate for the B05 in Australia, an electric hatch aimed straight at the MG4 and BYD Dolphin. The launch is pencilled for late 2026. The one thing missing is the price, and that is the number that decides whether anyone cares.

A hatch, not another SUV

The B05 is refreshing precisely because it is not a high-riding crossover. It is a low electric hatch on a rear-wheel-drive platform with proper multi-link rear suspension, the sort of hardware you usually pay more to get. Two batteries are offered overseas: a 56.2 kWh Life and a 67.1 kWh Design making 160 kW. DC fast charging peaks at 168 kW, and Leapmotor claims a 30 to 80 per cent top up in 17 minutes.

The price question

Leapmotor has priced the B05 in New Zealand from $43,990 NZD, which points to something around $36,000 in Australia, though that figure is not confirmed. If it lands there, it slots right on top of the MG4 and just under the BYD Dolphin, in the part of the market where a few hundred dollars moves metal. Warranty looks competitive at six years or 150,000 km on the car and eight years or 160,000 km on the battery.

Why the hardware matters

Rear-wheel drive and multi-link rear suspension are not marketing words on a spec sheet. They change how a car feels on a wet roundabout and how settled it is with three kids and a Coles load in the back. The MG4 already proved a cheap rear-drive electric hatch can be genuinely good to drive. If Leapmotor matches the chassis and undercuts on price, MG has a real fight.

Cartell Assessment

The B05 is the car the cheap-EV segment actually needed, a small hatch that is easy to park, cheap to run and built on hardware that suggests someone cared about the driving. The risk is the same one every new Chinese brand carries here: dealers, parts and resale are unproven. But on paper this is the most interesting sub-$40k EV coming, and it is not close.

AU Outlook

Approval is the easy part. The launch is late 2026, and the only question that matters now is whether Leapmotor confirms that roughly $36,000 starting price or blinks upward. Watch for an official local announcement. If it holds the line, the MG4's run as the default cheap electric hatch is over.