The starting price for the limited-time Lafa 5 is CNY92,800 (US$13,100), which represents a 12.29 percent drop from the pre-sale price. The company is also developing a higher-spec Ultra version of the Lafa 5, which is scheduled to be launched next year.
Leapmotor (HKG: 9863) today officially launched the Lafa 5 in China, entering the competitively priced electric hatchback market.
The starting price for this limited-time model is CNY 92,800 (US$13,100), which represents a decrease of CNY 13,000, or 12.29 percent, from the pre-sale starting price of CNY 105,800.
Deliveries of the Lafa 5 will begin soon, making it competitive in China against models including the Volkswagen ID.3, SAIC MG4, BYD’s (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) Dolphin, and Nio Inc’s (NYSE: NIO) Firefly EV.
The electric hatchback is often seen as an electric counterpart to the Golf – Volkswagen’s best-selling family sedan – in many cases.
Leapmotor offers five variants of the Lafa 5 – 515 Plus, 515 Pro, 515 Max, 605 Pro and 605 Max – with the numbers denoting the CLTC range.
The official starting prices for these variants are CNY 97,800, CNY 105,800, CNY 115,800, CNY 111,800 and CNY 121,800 respectively.
The company is offering a limited-time cash discount of CNY 5,000 to customers who purchase the Lafa 5 by December 31, effectively lowering the starting prices to CNY 92,800, CNY 100,800, CNY 110,800, CNY 106,800, and CNY 116,800 respectively.
Leapmotor is also allowing customers who purchase the model today to get an additional discount of CNY 2,000, which is the same as the pre-sale offer.
The company is also developing a higher-spec version of the Lafa 5 Ultra, which is scheduled to be launched next year.
The Lafa 5 is a rear-wheel drive compact electric car tuned by the European Stellantis team.
Built on Leapmotor’s LEAP 3.5 B platform, it measures 4,430mm long, 1,880mm wide and 1,520mm high, with a 2,735mm wheelbase.
These dimensions exceed those of the Firefly EV, which are 4,003 mm long, 1,781 mm wide, and 1,557 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,615 mm.
The Lafa 5 uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which offer 56.2 kWh and 67.1 kWh capacity options providing CLTC ranges of between 515 or 605 kilometres.
It supports fast charging, with charging reaching 80 percent from 30 percent in 18 or 19 minutes.
The base model features an engine with a maximum power of 132 kW and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds.
The other four models are equipped with a 160 kW engine, achieving acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.4 or 6.5 seconds.
The Lafa 5 features the Leapmotor Pilot driver assistance system, with two Max models additionally equipped with LiDAR technology.
The car’s cockpit is powered by either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155P or 8295P, the latter being the current mainstream choice for premium electric cars.
The launch of the Lafa 5 is part of Leapmotor’s efforts to achieve its 2026 annual sales target of 1 million units. The company debuted the A10 compact electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) with a range of 500 kilometers on the opening day of the 2025 Guangzhou Auto Show on November 21.
Leapmotor will enter a new super product cycle in 2026, with 2-3 models planned for its D series alongside its existing B series, Lafa 5 and C offerings, according to previous management statements.
Leapmotor delivered 70,289 vehicles in October, marking the sixth consecutive month of record deliveries.
From January to October, the Stellantis NV (NYSE: STLA)-backed Chinese electric vehicle maker delivered 465,805 vehicles, representing a 120.72 percent increase year-on-year.
Leapmotor’s initial sales target for 2025 was 500,000 to 600,000 units, which was raised in August to 580,000 to 650,000 units.
($1 = 7.0834 Chinese yuan)
