Leapmotor's B05 electric hatch reaches Australian showrooms late August, priced from $35,990 drive-away. That undercuts almost every EV wearing a badge you already know, and it is aimed squarely at first-car buyers and second-car families.
Two grades, real range
The entry Style runs a 56.2 kWh LFP battery good for a claimed 401 km WLTP, while the Design LR steps up to 67.1 kWh and up to 482 km for $39,990 drive-away. Both grades use the same 160 kW rear motor, which is a healthy output at this end of the market.
The price is the product
We covered the B05's Australian approval back in June, when the local price was the missing piece. Now it is locked, and it lands right where it needed to: under the psychological $36,000 line, drive-away, with no on-road surprises to add at the dealer.
Cartell Assessment
A low electric hatch with rear-wheel drive, 160 kW and a real-world usable range for under $40,000 drive-away is exactly the kind of car this market has been asking for. The unknowns are the usual new-brand questions: dealer coverage, parts supply and resale. None of those show up on a spec sheet, and all of them matter over five years of ownership.
AU Outlook
Cheap electric motoring used to be a promise, and this month it is a price tag. The B05 walks into a fight with the MG4 and BYD Dolphin, and its arrival pushes the whole affordable EV segment harder. If Leapmotor can back the price with service coverage, this becomes one of the default first EV picks of 2026.
