Leapmotor’s B03 electric hatch has been spotted in its prelaunch testing outfit in China ahead of its European unveil in early 2027. 

The car is in its final stages of testing before it goes into production – it will slot into the Leapmotor range below the B03X small SUV that’s coming to the UK later this year. 

The B03 is lower and wider looking than the B03X but still maintains a fairly upright stance. You can see the rounded stylings of the B03X through the camouflage stickers and the B03 has the air of a cuter Citroen C3. 

We did manage to take a picture of the interior of the car through the window – it didn’t yield any information particularly, but it did feel exciting at the time. 

The new B03 is expected to use the same 123hp motor from the B03X and although Leapmotor hasn’t revealed what battery it’s going to stick in the car, it’ll likely be the 53kWh LFP number from its slightly bigger brother. 

That said, with Leapmotor making its batteries in-house, it could be that the Chinese carmaker will take the opportunity to make some upgrades. 

Leapmotor’s strategy in the UK is to ship in just one highly specced model from China to sell here, offering a high level of equipment at a competitive price for the segment. 

With the T03 city car selling at £14,495 including Leapmotor’s Leap Grant that matches the UK government’s electric car grant, it’s possible that the new B03 could slip in below £20k to undercut the £22k entry price of Volkswagen’s new ID.Polo. 

The B03X (above) is known as the A10 in its home market, and the B03 hatch is set to get the A05 badge in China – Leapmotor hasn’t said why it’s taking a different approach with its European badging, but it could be to leave some space for the T03’s replacement to get an ‘A’ badge. That car has been on sale since 2020 in China and is ripe for an upgrade in 2027. 

Alongside the B03 prototype at the test track near Huzhou we also spotted a test version of the company’s sleek new D99 MPV that’s going on sale for the Chinese market and was unveiled at the Beijing motor show. 

The seven-seat electric people carrier sits at the other end of the company’s range of cars, but shows the company’s ambition to become a fancier tech-driven carmaker. 

The D99 MPV is a long way from the B03 in the Leapmotor range – it'll have a high-tech plush interior, but sadly isn't coming to the UK