Another batch of the Leapmotor C10 AWD Sports+ Special Edition – a 440kW electric SUV with a 4.0-second claimed 0-100km/h time – is heading to Australia.
“The second batch is coming. It’ll be arriving here in November this year,” Leapmotor Australia chief Andy Hoang told CarExpert.
It’ll be offered in black or white paint colours as before, with exterior striping, but a new purple finish will also be available.
Leapmotor Australia hasn’t confirmed the number of examples that will be available here, nor the pricing.
When the first batch was announced in March 2026, Leapmotor Australia said it would bring only 50 examples here, each priced at $53,888 before on-road costs – $4000 more than the rear-wheel drive C10 EV Design.
For the extra outlay, the AWD Sports+ Special Edition adds a second motor to deliver ‘intelligent’ all-wheel drive (AWD), with outputs jumping to 440kW of power and 760Nm of torque, and the claimed 0-100km/h time slashed to just 4.0 seconds.
The added performance is paired with an 800V (instead of 400V) electrical system and a larger 81.9kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery delivering a claimed 437km of WLTP range.
Compared to the only electric C10 variants offered at the time, power and torque were increased by 280kW and 440Nm, while range was increased by 17km.
Leapmotor Australia subsequently announced in June 2026 a C10 Design Long Range variant that bridged the gap somewhat between the Design and the AWD Sports+ Special Edition, adding its 800V electrical system and 81.9kWh LFP battery while offering a 220kW/360Nm electric motor and 510km of WLTP range.
When asked why Leapmotor Australia is only bringing the high-output vehicle here as a special edition in limited numbers, Mr Hoang said it serves as an accessible “halo” model for the brand.
“Given the unique specs of it, we felt like customers deserve to have it in a package that’s a bit more unique, a bit more limited,” he said.
“The exclusivity just raises the profile a little bit, rather than having it as a standard [variant],” he added.
While Leapmotor Australia has confirmed the return of the Sports+ Edition, it wouldn’t confirm when the updated C10 – revealed for Europe in September 2026 – will be introduced here.
For model year 2027 (MY27), the European-market C10 will move to the brand’s latest LEAP 3.5 Electronic & Electrical Architecture.
This means it’ll finally offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both with wireless connectivity, plus ChatGPT integration for the voice assistant.
Electric C10s with the 69.9kWh battery now produce 165kW and 360Nm, up from 160kW/320Nm, with WLTP range increasing from 420 to 430km and the maximum DC fast-charging rate growing from 84 to 120kW.
Other MY27 changes in Europe include revised LED headlights, a full-width front LED light bar, and the addition of three radar units to power new safety equipment such as active front cross-traffic assist.
There’s also been an increase of 27 litres in boot space for electric variants with a new adjustable boot floor.
Leapmotor International has said Chinese customers respond quickly to new products and frequent updates, but that it may skip certain updates in global markets because introducing a materially better version every few months can confuse customers and weaken the value of the model they have just bought.
Instead, it may keep a pre-update model around for longer than in China, but roll out over-the-air software updates to improve it.
“So right now, the average in China is three and a half years,” Leapmotor International’s then head of brand strategy, product and marketing and now CEO, Francesco Giacalone, told Australian media earlier this year.
“So three and a half years, full model change, technology change, architecture change, and so on.”
That doesn’t mean every Chinese model is replaced after exactly three and a half years, but it illustrates the speed at which the automotive industry there is moving.
Preparing those vehicles for global markets, including conducting local certification and dealer preparation, can add another 8-12 months – potentially meaning that by the time an export version has been introduced, a replacement model could be simultaneously being announced in China.
In the case of the C10, Leapmotor revealed an updated Chinese-market model in June 2026 with various exterior revisions and a redesigned dashboard with a larger 17.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, among other changes.
It’s unclear when these changes will reach global markets, particularly given Leapmotor International has decided to skip a recently revealed B10 update that brought, among other changes, an 800V electrical system.
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