The best value electric SUV in Australia? 2025 Leapmotor C10 pricing locked in at $10,000 less than Tesla Model Y and below Kia EV5

China’s cut-price Tesla Model Y rival has been revealed at a price that is guaranteed to throw the wind up the competition.

Set to arrive in showrooms from next month, the Leapmotor C10 will start at just $45,888 for the entry-level Style, rising to $49,888 for the top-spec Design, all before on-road costs.

That’s $10,000 less than the similarly-sized Tesla Model Y, which is Australia’s top-selling electric car. The Leapmotor is also $7000 cheaper than the Kia EV5, which will start at $56,770 before on-road costs, however, for a limited time Kia will offer the EV5 at the same price drive-away when it lands next month.

While exceeding the entry-level EV5 Air on range, it doesn’t quite reach the Model Y, with the C10’s 69.9kWh battery only delivering 420km of WLTP-rated range, 35km less than the Standard Range Rear-Wheel Drive Model Y and 113km less than the Long Range All-Wheel Drive variant.

Charge speed peaks at 84kW DC for a 30-80 per cent charge speed of 30 minutes.

Outputs are exactly the same on both C10 variants at 160kW/320Nm, with variations in pricing determined by standard features.

2025 Leapmotor C10

It is generously sized for its class, measuring 4740mm long, 1900mm wide and 1680mm tall with a sizeable 581L boot.

Leapmotor hasn't revealed exactly what features the top-spec Design receives over the Style, but we know that both cars receive a 10.25-inch driver’s instrument display and a 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen.

The C10 does not have smartphone mirroring capabilities, though, with Leapmotor confirming that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will arrive on the next model year vehicle. Customers will not have the option to retrofit either program on first edition cars.

2025 Leapmotor C10

A panoramic sunroof with electric sunshade, vehicle-to-load capability, 26 storage cubbies and Leapmotor’s pilot driver assistance system which utilises 12 ADAS sensors to inform 17 driver assistance functions all feature. Premium paint costs $990 extra.

Leapmotor is supplying one year's use of Chargefox’s network for cars purchased before March 31, 2025.

As standard, the C10 is backed by a seven-year/160,000km vehicle warranty and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.