We’re Driving Europe’s Second-Cheapest EV. What Would You Like To Know?

The Leapmotor T03 is a bit more expensive than its rival, the Dacia Spring, but it promises to be better in almost every way.

Leapmotor T03

Photo by: InsideEVs

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Jan 23, 2025 at 11:20am ET

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Comparing the Leapmotor T03 to its main rival, the Dacia Spring, it’s like the two cars are the inverse of each other. The former is a Chinese car assembled in Europe, while the latter is a European car made in China. We’re driving a Leapmotor T03 this weekend, and we want to know what you would like us to do with it and what you would like to know about it.

The Leapmotor T03 is a few years old, having launched in China in 2020, but it only debuted in Europe last year. It also began rolling off the production line at the Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, as part of a Stellantis-Leapmotor joint venture agreement. Assembling the car in the European Union should allow Leapmotor to bypass the high import tariffs imposed on Chinese EVs, helping keep the price of its little city runabout low.

Gallery: Leapmotor T03

Leapmotor T03

Source: InsideEVs

In Romania, where I’m based and testing the T03, it starts at €19,900 ($20,700 at current exchange rates), and a fully loaded example like my tester is just over €23,000 ($23,930). That’s about double what it costs in China. The government here does help out with a €5,000 incentive—which used to be up to €10,000 before 2024, when it was halved. EV incentives still exist in many European Union countries, but they are, on average, lower than they used to be.

It’s, therefore, around €3,000 more expensive than the Dacia Spring, which was given a major overhaul in 2024. But the Leapmotor also feels nicer inside and has more toys, like a panoramic glass roof. It’s quite a bit more powerful and quicker than the Dacia, which does seem to run out of puff when accelerating from higher speeds.

Leapmotor says around 60% of the components that go into the T03 are designed in-house, including the platform it’s based on. It features a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, and unlike the Dacia Spring, it has an active thermal management system. It also comes with DC fast-charging as standard, while it’s an optional extra in the Dacia.

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The T03 is a bit shorter and wider than the Dacia Spring, and it has a 30% smaller trunk. Sitting in the back seat is a bit of a squeeze for adults, but four people can travel in this car without feeling like torture for rear occupants. The materials inside are pretty good for a vehicle in this class, although don’t expect to find any soft-touch plastics anywhere in the cabin.

What do you think?

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My tester had not only a digital gauge cluster and a central infotainment display but also a third aftermarket head unit bolted to the dashboard, which gives the T03 Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which its built-in infotainment doesn’t have.

I plan to drive this car mostly around the crowded streets of Bucharest (where it should shine), but I’ll also take it outside of town to see what it feels like on more open roads. Small cars like this are usually designed with urban driving in mind, and they tend to feel out of their depth if you do anything else with them. So far, I’ve been pretty impressed with the T03’s road manners, but more testing is required for a definitive answer. What else do you want to know about it?