The increasingly crowded new energy vehicle sector has gained a name that deserves everyone's attention: Leap Motor. Transitioning from quantity to quality, Leap Motor's products have established a solid reputation and gained market recognition. From January to September of this year, Leap Motor's total sales reached 172,000 units, solidifying its position among the top three new car manufacturers in China. Particularly in September, Leap Motor set a new monthly record with sales of 33,000 units, firmly joining the 30,000 sales club.
What’s the magic behind Leap Motor's sales? In simple terms, it boils down to eight words: comprehensive self-research, good but not expensive. Leap Motor has successfully launched its C-series models, including the C16, C10, C11, and C01, based on the LEAP 3.0 technology platform. These family-oriented models, achieving sales of 30,000 units per month, serve as a strong testament to Leap Motor's technology and quality.
Now, Leap Motor has taken another significant leap forward. On October 14, under the theme "A LEAP FORWARD," Leap Motor showcased its innovations at the 90th Paris Motor Show. This step signifies an important iteration in its self-research technology, upgrading its technology architecture from LEAP 3.0 to LEAP 3.5.
Leap Motor emphasizes that the LEAP 3.5 architecture is super intelligent and highly integrated. Under this architecture, Leap Motor has launched its first series B model aimed at the global market, with the B10 as the initial vehicle.
The B10 celebrated its global debut in Paris, and importantly, it is still a product that fills users with happiness; maintaining quality at an affordable price is Leap Motor's unwavering commitment.
Harnessing Global Resources, the B Series is a Crucial Part of Leap Motor's Global Strategy
At the Paris Motor Show, Leap Motor's CEO Zhu Jiangming stated that to survive, Leap Motor must become a global automaker. This step involves leveraging Stellantis Group's strengths and opening a new model of reverse joint venture. Last year, Leap Motor established a partnership with Stellantis Group, operating under a light-asset model, leading to the formation of Leap International, a joint venture company.
Leap Motor CEO Zhu Jiangming
As Leap Motor's first global vehicle, the B10 meets global safety and environmental standards alongside international manufacturing quality. Reports indicate that the vehicle's design complies with EU certification standards, which are among the most stringent automotive certification standards worldwide. Additionally, Leap Motor has collaborated closely with the Maserati team at Stellantis Group to ensure that the B10 and its entire B series deliver comfort and handling to meet the diverse demands of global customers.
By leveraging Stellantis Group's extensive global network and after-sales service systems, Leap Motor can enter overseas markets faster than its competitors. Currently, Leap Motor has over 200 dealers across 13 European countries, planning to establish 500 sales points in Europe by 2025.
Having global partners empowers Leap Motor to sell vehicles more effectively, while the core remains its product competitiveness. The B series, tailored for a global young audience, aims to deliver cutting-edge smart new energy products.
The B series boasts remarkable hardware and software intelligence for its class. For instance, the B10 is equipped with a laser radar and Qualcomm's newly launched 8650 smart driving chip, enabling high-speed and urban navigation assistance, with its smart driving hardware rivaling that of luxury vehicles at a price of 500,000. In terms of the smart cockpit, B10 utilizes the 8295 chip, offering a smartphone-like seamless in-car experience. After integrating its voice assistant with a cloud-based large model, the overall smart cockpit experience will be even more intelligent, human-like, and convenient.
The B10 is the first model built on the LEAP 3.5 global architecture, and Leap Motor plans to expand the B series lineup by introducing three new models by 2025. “We believe the B series will position Leap Motor prominently in the global mainstream automotive market,” Zhu Jiangming affirmed.
Technology Architecture Progresses, Leap Motor Leaps Towards Building an "International Brand through Comprehensive Self-Research"
The competition in the new energy sector's first half focuses on electrification, while the latter half competes on intelligence. The intelligence level of a vehicle will become the core of industry competition, and the quality of its architecture as a foundation for intelligence reflects the depth of a company's self-research capabilities.
It is well-known that the LEAP 3.0 technology architecture is based on a central integrated electronic and electrical architecture resembling a four-leaf clover, incorporating a complete set of smart electric vehicle technology solutions, including global safety/design standards, CTC 2.0 technology, an 800V high-voltage silicon carbide fast charging platform, high-level smart driving, and intelligent cockpit systems, representing a comprehensive core technology layout for smart electric vehicles.
As Leap Motor's latest self-researched achievement, the LEAP 3.5 architecture, which iterates upon LEAP 3.0, features a higher-integrated central controller and a more integrated multi-functional electric drive system, as well as Leap's new-generation 27-in-1 super integrated thermal management system. The deep integration of these core technologies is achievable only with significant multi-module self-research capabilities.
As previously mentioned, the B series, equipped with the LEAP 3.5 technology architecture, represents Leap Motor's next growth point. However, the key to Leap Motor's leapfrogging development remains its profound self-research foundation. Leap Motor’s self-research capabilities are evident, having successively launched the industry’s first 8-in-1 electric drive, implemented mass production of integrated CTC battery chassis technology, and introduced the industry's first four-domain integrated central electronic and electrical architecture, among other leading smart electric technologies.
Leap Motor's commitment to comprehensively self-research core components gives its products a cost advantage that competitors find hard to match. Especially in today's environment, where global electric vehicle sales are slowing and competition intensifying, more efficient cost control offers a greater chance of survival.
Industry analysis indicates that in the field of research and development, Leap Motor has promoted comprehensive self-research driving software and hardware, achieving a platform universality rate as high as 88%, thus lowering costs; in production, Leap Motor has enhanced its cost control by self-researching over 60% of the overall vehicle cost associated with core components, including new energy vehicle architecture, electronic and electrical architecture, battery systems, electric drive systems, intelligent cockpit systems, and intelligent driving systems.
Only by doing so can Leap Motor fulfill its promise to users: always providing good and not expensive products. For the same price, Leap Motor has the capability to offer higher configurations; for the same configurations, Leap Motor is confident in providing lower prices. It can be said that the happiness Leap Motor promises its users is never unfounded.
With the global adventure of the B series kicking off, Leap Motor has taken another step towards its dream of "building an international brand through comprehensive self-research."
In Conclusion
Stellantis Group CEO Carlos Tavares referred to Leap Motor as one of the fastest-growing and most impressive new forces in China. The partnership between Stellantis and Leap Motor was established just last October, a time when the market's focus was on Li Auto and Aito. A year later, Leap Motor has solidified its place in the 30,000-unit monthly sales club, becoming a name that cannot be overlooked on the sales leaderboard.
Leap Motor's resurgence is enough to excite some observers. Yet Leap Motor remains true to itself. Since the delivery of the S01 in 2019, Leap Motor has not resorted to many gimmicks, steadily and calmly carving its own path. “Frankly, we only have 4,000 pre-orders for the C10, but each month we sell a bit more than the last, and this month we're expected to surpass 10,000,” Zhu Jiangming mentioned regarding the C10, which was launched in April of this year. This pricing segment of 100,000 to 150,000 RMB is notoriously competitive in the auto market.
However, Leap Motor has found its way forward, relying on the cost advantages of self-research-driven technology and its overseas market expansion strategy. This not only supports its profitability but also propels Leap Motor towards becoming a true global automaker.
