The Leapmotor C16 is a 6-seat SUV aimed at the family market, and will be offered in EREV and BEV variants.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Leapmotor (HKG: 9863) plans to officially launch and begin deliveries of its new C16 model on June 28, after starting pre-sales of the SUV (sport utility vehicle) at the Beijing auto show in late April.

The company announced the plan in its official WeChat account last night, saying that the C16's starting price will be less than RMB 200,000 yuan ($27,560) for the top-trim variant.

The Leapmotor C16 is a six-seat SUV aimed at the family market and will be offered in extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) variants, the company said.

Leapmotor's other models currently on sale include the T03, C01, C10 and C11, with all but the T03 being offered in both BEV and EREV variants.

The C16 EREV is powered by a battery pack with a capacity of 28.4 kWh and has a CLTC battery range of 200 km and a combined range of 1,095 km on a full tank of fuel and full charge.

The C16 BEV carries a battery pack with a capacity of 67.7 km and a CLTC range of 520 km, according to information announced by Leapmotor yesterday.

Built on the 800 V high-voltage platform, the Leapmotor C16 is the flagship model of its LEAP 3.0 architecture, with a maximum charging power of up to 180 kW and the ability to add 260 km to the range on a 15-minute charge, it said.

The C16 BEV has an electric motor with a maximum power of 215 kW and a peak torque of 360 Nm, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in as fast as 6.8 seconds.

The BEV variant consumes 14.8 kWh per 100 km, and 18.5 kWh for the EREV version.

The C16 EREV is powered by Leapmotor's next-generation EREV system assembly, with a generator efficiency of 96.5 percent, generating 3.27 kWh of electricity from 1 liter of gasoline, according to the company.

Founded in 2015, Leapmotor is one of China's earliest new car-making forces and is expanding overseas in partnership with Stellantis NV (NYSE: STLA), Europe's second-largest automaker by sales.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that Leapmotor International, a joint venture between the two, has begun production of EVs at Stellantis' plant in Tychy, Poland, with the first T03s having rolled off the production line.

Leapmotor delivered 18,165 vehicles in May, a new high for the year so far and close to its all-time high at the end of last year, according to figures it released earlier this month.

That's up 50.65 percent year-on-year and up 21.06 percent from 15,005 vehicles in April.

In the January-May period, Leapmotor delivered 66,580 vehicles, up 112.76 percent year-on-year.

At the end of May, Leapmotor had delivered 372,404 vehicles since its inception, data compiled by CnEVPost showed.

($1 = RMB 7.2562)