Geely-owned LEVC is known for producing the TX London taxi and the equivalent LCV, but the company is ready to unveil an entirely different all-new model in China. The LEVC L380 is a fully electric minivan that references the Airbus A380 with its name and exterior design. Choosing the world’s largest passenger aircraft as an inspiration for a minivan is a clever way of advertising its spaciousness and comfort. Furthermore, Geely designers tried to incorporate some of the A380’s lines on the exterior of the L380, taking advantage of the single-box proportions. The front features a full-width LED bar, bumper-mounted headlights, slim intakes, and a massive windshield. The profile is rather plain with flush door handles and large windows, while the vertically cut tail features full-width taillights with futuristic LED graphics.
The electric van will be available in
6-seater or 8-seater configurations, with the latter being arranged in a
four-row layout. Interior shots reveal that the fourth-row seats can be folded
and stowed in a recess under the boot, while the sliding third-row prioritizes
legroom or boot space. LEVC has yet to fully unveil the model, showing dark
teasers on social media. However, a set of exterior and interior photos were
published by Chinese media outlets – including Car News China – sourced from
LEVC’s application for a sales license in the local market together with a few
specs.
The LEVC L380 measures 5,316 mm long, 1,998 mm wide, and 1,940 mm tall,
with a wheelbase of 3,185 mm and a curb weight of 2,805 kg. It has been officially confirmed that the L380 is underpinned by
LEVC’s new Space Oriented Architecture (SOA) which is a reworked version of
Geely’s SEA platform. Power will reportedly come from a single electric motor
producing 268 hp. According to Chinese media, energy will be
sourced from a nickel-cobalt-manganate (NMC) battery pack, manufactured in
China by the CATL-Geely joint venture. Its capacity is unknown but the SOA
platform is compatible with batteries ranging between 73 and 120 kWh, which are
good for a maximum range of 695 km.
We expect to learn more about the
Airbus-inspired EV in its official debut sometime in the coming weeks. The LEVC
L380 will be produced in Zhejiang, China, next to the LEVC TX. Rivals in the Chinese
market include the Zeekr 009 and Volvo EM90 twins, and many other
similarly-sized minivans like the Li Mega, Denza D9, Xpeng X9, and Maxus Mifa
9.