| Leahead | |
| Native Name: | 领志 |
| Type: | Automotive marque |
| Location City: | Guangzhou |
| Location Country: | China |
| Area Served: | China |
| Industry: | Automotive |
| Products: | Electric automobiles |
| Parent: | GAC Toyota |
| Homepage: | http://www.leahead.com |
Leahead was an electric car sub brand by GAC Toyota, a joint venture between GAC Group and Toyota Motor Corporation, founded in 2014.
In 2013, the Sino-Japanese joint venture GAC Toyota announced a plan to introduce a new brand electric cars Leahead to the domestic Chinese market. Its announcement was the Ranz Concept crossover prototype presented at the Shanghai Auto Show.[1] [2] Leahead's next study was the urban hatchback i1 EV Concept presented in April 2015 at the Beijing Auto Show, closer in form to the future first production model.[3]
The series variant Leahead i1 was presented in November 2015, being a twin design to the second generation Toyota Yaris produced by GAC Toyota on the local Chinese market in 2008 –2013.[4] The car remained the only design offered under the Leahead brand and did not go into mass production except for a trial copy. The company retained a marginal position in the alliance in favor of GAC Toyota focusing on offering co-built Electric Cars as part of the Japanese company's local portfolio from 2018.
The i1 was an electric supermini hatchback based on the 5-door second generation Toyota Vitz and had a range of about 128km (80miles).[5] It has a 22 kWh battery and the motor delivers up to 70kW.[6]
The i1 was sold for the 2015-2016 model years.[7]
In 2018, Leahead i1s were recalled for replacing their defective Takata airbags.[8]
The iA5 was an electric compact sedan based on GAC New Energy's Aion S, with a redesigned front and rear different from the Aion S.[9] [10]
The iX4 was an electric compact crossover SUV based on the facelifted electric Trumpchi GS4 and was revealed at the 2018 Chengdu Motor Show.[11] It was also sold as the Mitsubishi Eupheme Qizhi, Honda Everus Shirui, and Fiat Yuejie, though the iX4 was a pure EV while the others were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.