The Leapmotor C10 is a mid-size sports utility vehicle built by the Chinese firm Leapmotor and sold outside China by a joint venture with Stellantis. It is one of the few models offered with two fundamentally different drivetrains, and that is precisely what makes it a Gulf question.
The first is fully electric, with lithium-iron-phosphate batteries ranging from 52.9 to 81.9kWh and a declared range of between 410 and 605 kilometres on the Chinese test cycle.
The second matters more here: a range-extended electric vehicle, whose wheels are always turned by electric motors while a 1.5-litre petrol engine works as a generator rather than driving the wheels. Its battery is smaller — 28.4kWh — giving about 145 kilometres on electricity alone, while a full battery and tank together give roughly 950 kilometres.
No distributor has been announced for Leapmotor in the UAE or Saudi Arabia as of this report, and the prices circulating are parallel imports.
At the top of the range, Stellantis has announced a C10 with all-wheel drive, an 81.9kWh battery and an 800V architecture, producing 585 horsepower, accelerating from nought to 100km/h in four seconds and charging from 30% to 80% in twenty-two minutes.
Why does this matter in the Gulf? Because the obstacle facing electric cars in the region is not price alone but distance and the charging network. A range-extender drives on electricity within the city, then runs its generator on the long road between cities, avoiding reliance on a network still dense only along the main corridors.
The car’s dimensions are mid-size: 4,740mm long, 1,900mm wide and 1,680mm tall, on a 2,825mm wheelbase — placing it in a class where the Gulf’s best-selling models compete.
The marque itself is no bit player. Leapmotor delivered 105,656 cars in September alone, up 58.5%, its third consecutive month above a hundred thousand, and it is among the fastest-growing Chinese marques this year.
But what has not been announced is what matters most to the Gulf buyer: there is no announced official distribution for Leapmotor in the UAE or Saudi Arabia as of this report, no appointed dealer and no service network. The prices appearing in UAE market listings belong to units brought in through parallel imports, and are not official pricing for the marque.
The difference between the two situations is not a formality. Buying outside official distribution means a warranty no local distributor stands behind, parts ordered case by case, and software that may not receive regional updates — costs that surface after a year or two rather than at delivery.
Gulf Auto will track any official announcement of Leapmotor distribution in the Gulf states through the Stellantis network, and only then publish prices and specifications as official.
