It's the Shanghai Auto Show again. As the exhibition scale hits a new high, some changes are also quietly taking place. Among the new forces in the group of car companies, Leapmotor's booth is particularly impressive.
In 2019, when Leapmotor debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show, it only had a small booth of several dozen square meters, located in a corner of the venue; there were only two cars on display, S01 and C-more, one of which was just a concept car. "Who is Leapmotor?", "How far can this car go?" These were the questions that people passing by Leapmotor would ask from time to time.
However, six years later, when Leapmotor came here again, everything was self-evident. Some of the emerging electric vehicle brands that once sprung up like mushrooms in Hall 7 with Leapmotor have disappeared from the public eye, and some brands are still in business but are no longer as popular as before.
Only Leapmotor is getting more and more stable and setting new records. In 2024, Leapmotor will be among the top three new forces in sales. Relying on the cost advantage of full-domain self-developed research and the strategy of overseas market expansion, Leapmotor now has a greater chance of survival than before.
This year, Leapmotor, which occupies a booth of over 1,000 square meters, once again exhibited its full range of best-selling models, attracting the attention of domestic and foreign leaders from all walks of life. At the scene, there were not only partners such as FAW Chairman Qiu Xiandong, CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun, and Qualcomm Senior Vice President Nakul Duggal, but also a visit from the team of former French Prime Minister Raffarin.
At the same time, the second high-quality smart sedan of the Leapmotor B series, the B01, also made its global debut. The B01 is designed for young people and is expected to fill the gap in the 150,000-class market for high-quality smart sedans. However, it is still very Leapmotor and interprets Leapmotor's consistent car-making philosophy - using technology equality to bring happiness to users' travel and life.
This time, when people came to the Leapmotor booth again, they all asked, "What is the growth ceiling of Leapmotor?"
Leapmotor B01 is designed for young people, filling the gap of high-quality smart sedans in the 150,000-class market
As we all know, the B series is an important part of Leapmotor's globalization strategy. The technical architecture adopted by the B series is also Leapmotor's latest LEAP 3.5 technical architecture. Leapmotor emphasizes that LEAP 3.5 is super smart and super integrated, with four major characteristics: intelligence, fun, quality and fashion.
As the first sedan in the B series, B01 attempts to attract young users with the label of "the most beautiful smart sedan in the 150,000-class". Leapmotor B01 has a global aesthetic, expressing the global young lifestyle and values with technological and natural aesthetics. At the same time, the product takes the best range in its class, intelligence that surpasses its class, quality and thermal management as its core highlights, providing young people with a travel solution that combines appearance, range, intelligence and quality.
Although the price has not been announced yet, people seem to assume that B01 will also have the potential to be a hit like B10. As the first global car of the Leapmotor B series, the B10, which has been released, is the first model in the electric vehicle industry equipped with a laser radar and priced as low as 130,000 yuan. 13 days after its launch, the batch delivery of B10 has exceeded 8,000 units. Among them, the version equipped with laser radar accounts for 51%; the mid-to-high-end version accounts for as high as 95%.
Leapmotor's commitment to its users is to always provide users with good and inexpensive products. The so-called good and inexpensive means that Leapmotor is able to provide higher configurations for the same price, and is confident to provide lower prices for the same configurations. At the auto show, a relevant person in charge of Leapmotor said: "In the era of rational consumption, we hope that Leapmotor's products will become the rational choice of consumers."
Leapmotor's order volume hits a new high, with a solid foundation of self-developed technology behind its leapfrog development
In 2024, Leapmotor delivered nearly 300,000 vehicles in total, doubling its sales. It had the fastest year-on-year growth rate among new car-making brands, and its annual sales ranked among the top three new car-making brands.
In the past two months, Leapmotor has achieved frequent successes. In March, the delivery volume of the entire vehicle series doubled year-on-year, ranking first among new forces. Recently, Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming posted on WeChat Moments that its single-day lock-in volume hit a new high, with a net increase of more than 3,000 units. It should be pointed out that today's Leapmotor has completed the sales volume that used to take a month in just one day. The new B series is aimed at China's largest automotive market segment. With the successive launch of B10, B01 and B05 (expected in November), it may become a new growth point for Leapmotor's sales in 2025.
The key to Leapmotor's leapfrog development is its deep self-developed foundation. Since its inception, Leapmotor has insisted on self-development of core technologies. Except for the battery cells, interior and exterior decoration, and the chassis, automotive electronics and electrical appliances, which are self-developed and outsourced, all other parts are self-developed and self-manufactured by Leapmotor, and the proportion of self-development and self-manufacturing has accounted for 65% of the total vehicle cost.
In the field of research and development, Leapmotor has promoted the development of self-developed driving software and hardware in all areas, and has achieved a platform commonality rate of up to 88%, reducing production costs. Leapmotor has launched a series of leading intelligent electric technologies, including the industry's first eight-in-one electric drive, the industry's first mass-produced CTC battery chassis integration technology, and the industry's first four-in-one central integrated electronic and electrical architecture. Leapmotor will also exhibit its self-developed LEAP 3.5 technology architecture at the Shanghai Auto Show this year.
It is reported that Leapmotor International Joint Venture will lead hundreds of international media from around the world to participate in the Shanghai Auto Show, to experience the product and system strength of Leapmotor Automobile, and also witness the value advantage of China's smart electric vehicles. As a rational disruptor who adheres to long-termism, Leapmotor is using hard-core technology and efficient cost control to write the world's answer to China's smart manufacturing: Leapmotor insists on pricing based on cost, and through continuous innovation, it makes smart technology from a luxury exclusive to a must-have for everyone.
Leapmotor must become a global automaker, and asset-light overseas expansion will become a model for China's new energy overseas expansion
As Leapmotor's product competitiveness and brand trust continue to rise, it can be said that Leapmotor has carved out a path in the red ocean of China's auto market, relying not only on the cost advantage of its fully self-developed drive technology, but also on its continued expansion and deepening of overseas markets.
Zhu Jiangming, founder, chairman and CEO of Leapmotor, made it clear that if Leapmotor wants to survive, it must become a global automaker. In this step, Leapmotor borrowed the power of the Stellantis Group, opened up a new model of reverse joint venture, and cooperated with the Stellantis Group in a light-asset business model. On this basis, the two parties established the joint venture company Leapmotor International.
It is reported that since the launch of sales in the European market in September 2024, Leapmotor has quickly reached the service level of mainstream international car companies in the European market by utilizing the existing resources of Stellantis Group's global automotive finance, auto insurance, repair and maintenance, and continues to provide European users with convenient and fast after-sales services.
Currently, the two models sold by Leapmotor in Europe, T03 and C10, have achieved sales growth in the European market with excellent price-quality ratio. In addition, the B series will also launch an export version in the middle of this year. The first global model of the B series, B10, is scheduled to be launched in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year. The third product of the B series, B05, is also scheduled to debut in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year, completing Leapmotor's overseas layout with a dual-power strategy.
As of April 2025, Leapmotor International has expanded to 23 international markets including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Asia Pacific and South America, with more than 550 outlets with both sales and after-sales service functions. It is expected that 700 outlets will be settled in 2026, laying a solid foundation for Leapmotor's global sales and services. Currently, Leapmotor is continuing to expand its business layout in Southeast Asia, and localized assembly in Malaysia may accelerate Leapmotor's global layout.
As of the end of December 2024, Leapmotor will have delivered more than 13,000 vehicles overseas, and aims to achieve overseas sales of more than 50,000 vehicles in 2025.
at last
Looking back, the Leapmotor S01 that debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show six years ago was like a stone thrown into a calm lake. The ripples that arose quickly dissipated in doubts about whether the car company could survive. Six years later, when it became clear, Leapmotor had already set off a thousand waves that reshaped the electric vehicle industry.
The Shanghai Auto Show from 2019 to 2025 is like a microcosm of Leapmotor's six-year transformation. When the industry was obsessed with the internal circulation of refrigerators, color TVs and sofas, it chose to dive into the deep waters of three-electric, intelligent driving and electronic architecture to build a moat, and then exported its technology to Europe, gradually gaining a foothold in the world. I believe that anyone who comes to Leapmotor's booth can understand that the real change is not born from the carnival of traffic, but from the obsession and deep cultivation of technology.
