Leapmotor says it has put its upcoming D19 flagship SUV through an unusually brutal safety exercise by deliberately blowing two tyres at once on the same side while the vehicle travelled on ice and snow.
The brand billed it as the “world’s first real-world test of simultaneous double tyre blowout on the same side in extreme ice and snow conditions at two speeds of 80 and 120kph and a full load of six people.”
The Chinese EV maker announced on Jan 22 that the test took place at the Yakeshi winter test base in Inner Mongolia, China, where temperatures dipped to around -30°C.
With six passengers on board, the D19 reportedly completed two runs: 80kph on a split surface combining ice and asphalt, and 120kph on fully icy, snow-covered ground.
In both cases, Leapmotor said the tyres on one side were burst simultaneously while the SUV was moving. It claimed the D19 stayed stable and controllable, avoided the violent wobble that often follows a blowout, and came to a safe stop.
Leapmotor credited the result to its in-house LMC (Leapmotor Integrated Motion Control) system, which it said detected and responded within 200 milliseconds.
In a blowout scenario, the car maker said the system coordinated stability control with chassis responses and adjusted the air suspension on the affected side, raising it to help keep the body level and maintain grip.
Chinese automotive media personality Han Lu witnessed the demonstration, which Leapmotor said formed part of its wider safety validation programme ahead of the D19’s planned April launch in China.
The D19 marks Leapmotor’s push into the full-size SUV class and is expected with both battery-electric (BEV) and extended-range (EREV) variants.
The EREV uses all-wheel drive with a combined 400kW output and an 80.3kWh battery for 500km of pure-electric driving on the CLTC cycle.
The BEV is said to run a 1,000V architecture, produce 540kW, and pair a 115kWh battery with a 720km CLTC range figure.
Leapmotor is expected to price the D19 at 250,000–300,000 yuan (RM144,000–RM173,000). It will compete with large, family-focused Chinese premium SUVs such as the Li Auto L9 and Nio ES8.
The D19 measures 5,252mm long with a 3,110mm wheelbase, offers six- or seven-seat layouts, and comes with cabin tech that includes dual Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 chips and a 21.4-inch rear entertainment screen.
Pre-orders opened on Nov 21 last year ahead of the April launch in China.
