Leapmotor T03's price has been raised by RMB 5,600 to RMB 6,600 due to higher raw material prices.
(Image credit: Leapmotor)
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup Leapmotor has once again raised the price of its budget model, the T03, following a similar move in March this year.
Leapmotor announced on its mobile app on Sunday evening that the post-subsidy prices of the T03 will be increased, with the exception of a special edition of the model, citing factors including higher upstream raw material prices.
The company suspended taking orders for the T03 at 22:00 on July 31 until the adjustment takes effect at 0:00 on August 1. Orders placed before then are not affected.
The Leapmotor T03 is currently available in six versions, with the special edition priced from RMB 85,900 ($12,710). The prices of the other five versions have been increased by RMB 5,600 to RMB 6,600, with the latest price range being RMB 79,500 to RMB 96,500.
This is the second time in the past six months that Leapmotor has raised the price of the T03.
On March 26, Leapmotor increased the prices of two versions of the T03 by RMB 5,000 and three other versions by RMB 7,000.
On March 19, Leapmotor increased the price of its flagship SUV, the C11, by RMB 20,000 - 30,000 for the entire lineup.
Leapmotor was founded in 2015 and currently sells the mini T03, the coupe model S01, and the flagship SUV model C11.
The company filed its prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 17, hoping to list there.
It delivered 43,748 electric vehicles in 2021, including 634 S01s, 39,149 T03s and 3,964 C11s, its prospectus showed.
On May 10, Leapmotor unveiled its flagship sedan, the C01, and began accepting reservations for a price range of RMB 180,000 ($26,770) - 270,000.
Rising raw material costs have put EV companies under pressure over the past year, and lower-priced models were t hit the most.
Changan EV, the EV arm of Changan Automobile, began suspending orders for the Benben E-Star on July 1, saying it was facing long delivery lead times for the model due to a shortage of upstream raw materials and constraints on vehicle and parts capacity.
Changan EV's website shows that the Benben E-Star was then offered in seven versions with a price range of RMB 29,800 ($4,450) - RMB 74,800.
At the end of February, Great Wall Motor's EV brand Ora stopped accepting orders for both the White Cat and Black Cat models in China as raw material prices continued to rise.
Xpeng cuts vehicle prices as production capacity rises, report says
More From CnEVPost
