Stellantis backed Leapmotor A12 project spied in China

Pictures on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram equivalent, show a new Leapmotor model currently known as A12. Seen heavily camouflaged the car seems to be in a parking area belonging to Leapmotor, as it is seen surrounded by other Leapmotor cars.

From the pictures we can see that the new car which has the project name A12 is considerably smaller than the C11. Fast Technology speculate that the price of the new compact SUV could start from as low as 99,800 yuan (13,800 USD).

Although covered in stickers, we can see that the design is similar to the Leap C10  which was the brand’s first global car. The Leapmotor A12 has hidden door handles and it seems smaller than the C10 with the design pushing the wheels as far as possible to the corners to maximize internal space. Fast Technology estimate the length to be between 4.5 and 4.6 meters.

According to a photographed sticker the project name is A12. Chinese media believe that this means the car is part of a new A series positioned lower than the C series. However, given the low price point already of the C series this doesn’t necessarily make much sense and so it is possible A12 is merely an internal code name and that the final car will be given a name in the C series.

There are currently no spy shots of the interior but it is likely to be similar to the C10 with an LCD instrument cluster and floating center display. It will also have a traditional two row five seat layout.

Production versions will likely come in a choice of full EV and range extended EV versions with the latter having a range of somewhere between 100 and 150 km.

Almost certainly the A12 project is designed as a global car following on from the C10. Stellantis acquired 20% of Leapmotor in an October 2023 deal. As part of the deal the two companies formed a joint venture called Leapmotor International (Stellantis holds 51% and Leapmotor controls 49%) to sell and manufacture Leapmotor vehicles outside China.

The A12 will likely unveil late this year probably at the Guangzhou Auto Show and will follow on from the C16 which is due to launch later this year.

Sources: Autohome, Fast Technology