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Vauxhall owner enters electric car ‘price war’ with £16k hatchback

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It added the four-door vehicle will have “elegant and agile urban mobility designed to satisfy the needs of younger, style orientated drivers”.

As part of their joint venture deal, Stellantis and Leapmotor also said the C10 SUV, which has a bigger range of 262 miles, will simultaneously go on sale for £36,500.

The move comes as traditional Western brands including Renault and Volkswagen are also racing to launch their own more affordable EVs.

Analysts said the launch of the relatively cheap T03 was likely to mark the beginning of much tougher price competition in the EV market, something that could help further to close the existing cost disparity with petrol cars.

The average EV costs about £49,000, compared to £37,000 for an internal combustion engine car, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.

Felipe Munoz, an automotive expert at JATO Dynamics, said the T03 and Dacia Spring were still more expensive than petrol-fueled alternatives, with Dacia’s own Sandero selling for £13,795.

He added: “I still don’t see much potential for these cars. The Dacia Spring has been on the market now for two years and it has not really changed much.

“If you want an affordable city car, you can still find better combustion engine cars.

“But it is probably the start of less expensive EVs. I would not quite call these ‘affordable’ yet but it looks like the start of a new price offensive by the brands.”

He also questioned whether the T03 and C10 risked cannibalising sales of Stellantis’s existing brands, such as Vauxhall. 

“What does this mean for those many other Stellantis brands in the UK?” he asked.

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