Leapmotor B10’s Charging Ordeal Highlights Hurdles for New Chinese EV Entrants

The Fault That Won’t Stay Fixed

A long-term test of the Leapmotor B10, a Chinese electric SUV entering the UK market, has turned into a saga of charging failures. The car first exhibited a dangerous fault in late May: every time it was plugged into any AC charger—at home, at an office, even at a public forecourt—it tripped fuses and killed the charging point. After the fourth incident, it was diagnosed with a faulty onboard charger.

Leapmotor replaced the unit under warranty within weeks, an impressively fast turnaround given the brand’s recent arrival in the UK. But the relief was short-lived. The car now accepts a charge, but it maxes out at just 1.9kW—the speed of a domestic three-pin socket, not the 7kW the owner’s wallbox can deliver. Fully recharging the 67.1kWh battery would take three days.

The ‘Safety Current Limiting’ function, designed to prevent overloading a home’s electrical circuit, was not engaged. The car has gone back for further investigation, leaving the owner with a vehicle that cannot be used as a daily driver. Between the repair periods and the unreliability, the tester has spent more time without the car than with it.

Where Leapmotor’s B10 Stumble Leaves the Brand

Leapmotor’s Quality Questions Multiply

While this is a single press vehicle, the episode strikes at the heart of consumer confidence for a brand that is trying to build a reputation from scratch. The fact that the initial defect was serious—causing external chargers to blow fuses—and the repair has introduced a new, debilitating limitation suggests either a design weakness or inconsistent parts and workmanship.

The onboard charger is not a minor component; it is the gateway to keeping an EV usable. That two successive failures hit the same system raises questions about the robustness of Leapmotor’s supply chain and the validation of repair procedures. The brand’s partnership with Stellantis might eventually bring service network and parts logistics benefits, but for now the experience points to teething problems that could turn early adopters away.

Software Calibration: A Symptom of Incomplete Localisation

Separately, the owner reports that the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are poorly tuned for UK rural roads. The emergency lane-keep assist can violently steer the car towards hedges or oncoming traffic when it misreads narrow lanes. Switching it off requires delving into touchscreen menus, with no physical shortcut. This poor calibration is a common tell-tale of a vehicle designed primarily for other markets, lacking the refinement expected by European consumers. If Leapmotor cannot quickly update these systems, the B10 risks being remembered more for its electrical gremlins and intrusive safety tech than for its spacious interior and attractive styling.

What Buyers and Rivals Should Watch

For Potential Buyers

• Insist on a thorough test of both AC and DC charging during any test drive, at different charge levels, to catch latent faults before commitment.
• Clarify the location and availability of service centres; with new brands, a fast repair is meaningless if the part isn’t in the country.
• Read the warranty fine print for coverage of the onboard charger and ADAS software updates, as these are emerging pain points.

For Rivals

• Established manufacturers can underscore their own reliability stats and nationwide service networks in marketing, using the Leapmotor case as a tacit benchmark.
• Other new Chinese entrants should consider investing heavily in pre-delivery inspection protocols and European-specific software calibration to avoid similar negative press.