Leapmotor B03X makes first Malaysian appearance at ACE 2026 ahead of expected 2027 CKD launch

A preview to gauge interest, not a launch

The Leapmotor B03X made its first appearance in Malaysia at the paultan.org Auto Car Expo (ACE) 2026, powered by Petronas Primax, which runs on October 31 and November 1 at the Setia City Convention Centre in Setia Alam. The right-hand-drive unit on the Leapmotor booth is finished in Seaweed Green and is described by paultan.org as a special preview intended to gauge local market interest and customer response, alongside the established C10 and B10 SUVs. ¹⁶⁴

Paultan.org reports that no launch date has been set and that pricing, availability and specifications will be announced by Leapmotor Malaysia when ready. The preview car is described as not fully representative of the eventual Malaysian model, but giving a good idea of what to expect. ¹⁶

International specification: motor and batteries

The export-market B03X carries a single front-mounted electric motor with 197 PS (145 kW) and 200 Nm, delivering 0-100 km/h in 8.6 seconds and a 160 km/h top speed, according to paultan.org's coverage of the international model shown at ACE and its earlier September report on Malaysian plans. This is substantially more powerful than the China-market A10, which offers two outputs of 70 kW (94 hp) and 90 kW (121 hp), both with 150 Nm, running the century sprint in 12.0 and 10.5 seconds respectively. ¹⁵⁶⁷

Two LFP battery options supplied by Gotion are offered in Europe: a 39.8 kWh unit with up to 292 km WLTP range and a 53.0 kWh battery with up to 382 km WLTP, paultan.org reports. Maximum charging rates are 133 kW DC and 11 kW AC, with Leapmotor's '2.5C' fast charging taking the battery from 30 per cent to 80 per cent state of charge in around 16 minutes. Leapmotor's own European model page separately quotes a 21-minute DC fast-charge time, but on a 10-80 per cent window, so the two figures describe different state-of-charge spans rather than conflicting claims; the page also lists 100 kW DC maximum for the 39.8 kWh variant and 15.5-15.7 kWh/100 km WLTP consumption. ¹⁵⁶²

The Leapmotor website lists two European trims, Life and Design, both with a 14.6-inch central screen, 8.8-inch digital cluster, seven airbags, 17 ADAS functions and CarPlay/Android Auto, with the Design trim adding eco-leather seats, a six-way electrically adjustable driver's seat, heated front seats and steering wheel, a 360-degree camera, front parking sensors and a 12-speaker audio system over the Life trim's six speakers. ²

What the export version loses from the China-spec A10

Paultan.org's September report, following an international media drive event in Malaga, Spain, details several differences between the global B03X and the China-market A10. There is no LiDAR for markets outside China, and the top European specification omits the A10's panoramic glass roof, the driver's seat-back flip-down table for rear passengers, and the storage box under the flip-up rear seat base in the style of Honda's Ultra Seats. The A10's accessory attachment on the passenger end of the central air-conditioning vent cluster, for items such as ambient lighting, a fragrance dispenser or a humidifier, is also not offered in Europe, though the under-seat storage could reach Europe as a homologated accessory. ⁵

The international B03X rides on Yokohama BluEarth GT tyres rather than the Linglongs fitted in China, and its ride and handling is tuned by Stellantis at the Balocco proving ground in Italy, paultan.org reports. The name change from A10 to B03X outside China is intended to avoid buyers mistaking the car for an A-segment SUV; Leapmotor positions it as a B-segment SUV, with the B10 a C-segment and the C10 a D-segment car in its own classification. ⁵⁷

Motorist Malaysia, which experienced a brief ride-and-drive at Leapmotor's proving ground in Huzhou in the China-spec A10, describes an entry-level electric SUV with 34 storage compartments, a 106-litre washable compartment under the boot floor, flexible seating including flip-up rear squabs, and Leapmotor Pilot LiDAR-guided urban assisted driving in Chinese cities. It notes the torsion-beam rear suspension working hard on rutted roads and characterises the acceleration as steady rather than speedy beyond standstill. That account is a China-market first-hand impression and does not describe the Malaysian or European specification. ³

Local assembly and the expected 2027 launch

The B03X is set to be locally assembled (CKD) at Stellantis' Gurun, Kedah plant ahead of an expected first-half-2027 Malaysian launch, paultan.org reports. This follows the B10 and C10, which are already CKD in Gurun, and the plan was revealed at Auto China 2026. An earlier April report had pointed to a launch by the end of 2026 or early 2027, and Motorist Malaysia suggested a debut before Christmas 2026, but the later paultan.org position is the expected first half of 2027. ¹⁵⁷³

CKD assembly is effectively necessary under Malaysian rules: paultan.org reports that the B03X cannot be brought in fully built from China because it falls below the minimum power output of 180 kW (245 PS) introduced earlier in 2026 for imported EVs, which also require a CIF value of at least RM200,000 before duties, tax and margins. Paultan.org reports that Stellantis Malaysia would ideally like to price a single-spec B03X just above RM100,000, below the CKD B10 Design at RM118,800 on-the-road without insurance, but that pricing depends on negotiations between the carmaker and Malaysia's MITI, so no Malaysian price is confirmed. ⁵

In China, the A10 is priced from 65,800 to 86,800 yuan, which paultan.org converts to roughly RM38,174 to RM50,357, but those are domestic Chinese prices under a different specification and market structure and should not be read as an indication of Malaysian or any other market pricing. ⁷

Size and its B-segment rivals

The B03X measures 4,270 mm long, 1,810 mm wide with a 2,605 mm wheelbase. Paultan.org sets this against the BYD Atto 2, which is 40 mm longer, 20 mm wider and has a 15 mm longer wheelbase, and against the Proton eMas 5 (sold as the Geely EX2 in China), which the B03X outstretches by 135 mm in length and 5 mm in width while giving away 45 mm of wheelbase. ¹⁵⁷

Body colours listed for the car include Seaweed Green, Acorn Brown, Berry Blue, Tundra Grey, Galaxy Silver and Morgan Pink, with paultan.org noting the ACE display unit is in Seaweed Green. Whether Malaysia offers the China-market panoramic glass roof, rear picnic table or under-seat storage remains uncertain; paultan.org reports the Malaysian car is expected to be largely similar to the international version Europe receives, and flags the bigger 53 kWh battery as its expectation for the local market, though nothing is confirmed. ¹⁶⁷

Stellantis backing and no Australian news

Stellantis holds a stake in Leapmotor and markets the carmaker's products outside China, which underpins the Gurun assembly arrangement; a Stellantis ASEAN managing director told paultan.org that having an amortised local plant allows pricing flexibility that newly arrived importers lack. Leapmotor also recently announced 1.5 million cumulative global deliveries, per paultan.org's topic coverage. ⁷⁵⁸

The reporting concerns Malaysia and Europe only. No Australian launch, pricing or specification for the B03X has been reported in this coverage, and the European WLTP range and charging figures cited above are not confirmed for Malaysia or for any other market beyond Europe. Any eventual Australian availability, prices and specifications would need to be established separately. ¹⁶⁵