Li L8’s cheaper rival spied camo-free in a parking lot

Chinese automaker Leapmotor has started the road tests of a new crossover named the C16. According to Car News China posting the first unofficial photos of the car, it will reach the market in China and abroad before the end of the year.

Based on the images available thus far, the C16 is a stretched variant of the Leapmotor C10 (see video). The latter went on sale in early March this year with a similar exterior and cabin, but three seat rows. The C16 seen here has six seats across three rows, but can easily be made a seven-seater.

The dashboard with its standalone gauge and infotainment displays is largely the same as in the C10. There seems to be no front passenger display option on the list, but those sitting in the second row get their own flip display on the ceiling. In this sense, the new C16 looks similar to the Li L8, the SUV that the media in China call one of its main rivals.

Like the C10, the C16 will be running on the manufacturer’s own LPEE 3.0 platform supporting two main powertrains – all-electric and range-extender hybrid. Reporters in China believe it will only have a motor at the rear axle and not both, largely to keep the costs down. Even so, the C16 may receive a mild performance boost compared to the C10’s 231 PS (228 hp / 170 kW).

Rumors claim the Leapmotor C16 is twice as cheap as the Li L8 in its most basic spec, which means no more than 200,000 Yuan ($27,900) before options. The C10 starts from 128,800 Yuan and maxes out at 168,800 Yuan in China, which converts into $17,900–23,500.