3' min read
3' min read
SHANGHAI - The goals, and the ambition, are great. The founder and controlling shareholder of Leapmotor, Zhu Jiangming, makes no secret of them. To break into the top five of the world's ranking of electric car manufacturers sold in the next three years. That's no small feat for a brand founded in 2015 in China, which delivered its first cars in 2019 and is currently in 11th place in the global ranking, ahead of the automotive giants from Beijing and elsewhere. "But ambition," said Zhu Jangming at the Shanghai Motor Show, at the unveiling of the B01, the C-segment sedan destined for the Chinese market, "is the decisive spring for growth."
A strategy based on two legs: the launch of new models, for China and the global market; the development of sales abroad, also thanks to the jont venture with Stellantis, which controls 51%, launched in October 2023 and which brought the first Leapmotor cars to Europe in July 2024. A year that the company considers indicative of a trend that is just beginning: deliveries doubled, from around 150,000 to 293,724 cars. Turnover reached USD 4.4 billion, with a gross operating margin of 8.4%. But above all, Leapmotor is the Chinese manufacturer with the strongest growth trend in electrics. In the past month, Leapmotor delivered 37,095 vehicles with a year-on-year increase of 154%, ranking first in terms of growth among electric brands. In its first two days on the market, the launch was on 10 April, the B10, the C-Suv created for global markets, collected over 30,000 orders, 10,000 in the first hour of sales.
The range of Leapmotor products on show at the Shanghai Motor Show stand, over a thousand square metres compared to a few dozen at last year's edition, is divided, even physically, into two large blocks: B10, C10 and T03 sold worldwide; C16, C11, C01, B01 destined for the Chinese market. All models have pure electric power and extended range. They have specific characteristics - clean lines, high level technology and ease of use - but above all prices that make them attractive especially in international markets.
The second leg of the development is global expansion based on the joint venture with Stellantis. The company began operations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific in September 2024 and plans to expand into South America and new countries in 2025. Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Portugal were the first European countries where Leapmotor models were sold. The strategy, starting with Italy, is simple: Stellantis provides the Chinese brand with dealers, financial and after-sales assistance, the Achilles' heel of Beijing brands that land abroad with often weak protection (and sales) networks. In Italy, where more than a thousand cars have been delivered (about 400 are expected this month alone), there are over a hundred dealers involved. The trend suggests that five thousand cars sold in 2025 may be approached. In April, Leapmotor International entered a further 23 markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America, with over 550 sales and service outlets.
But Leapmotor also plans to open a production facility in Europe in the near future. "It will be an assembly plant," said Zhu, "which we will open where we find the best economic and technological conditions to develop our products. We are looking at Slovenia, Serbia and Spain'. Italy, despite Stellantis, is not out of the picture, but neither is it in the centre of thoughts.
