Leapmotor returns to the throne of the new forces.

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Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

The first quarter is usually a slack season, with most emerging forces still lingering in the 30,000 to 40,000 units range.

Leapmotor, however, returned to a high delivery volume in March, recording 50,029 units and totaling over 110,000 units in the first quarter, once again taking the crown among new car makers.

Breaking it down, the C and B series gradually gained a foothold, the A series saw a strong start, the flagship D series is gearing up, and overseas sales hit a historical high of 40,000 units in a single quarter. Product, supply chain, and overseas channels were all pushed simultaneously to support these numbers.

As industry polarization becomes increasingly apparent, such stable upward momentum is growing rare. From a longer term perspective, Leapmotor’s growth certainty did not begin now, but has accumulated gradually from last year's strategic execution.

Since August 2024, Chairman Zhu Jiangming and core shareholder Fu Liquan have repeatedly increased their holdings, totaling nearly 1.2 billion HKD, spanning more than half a year. The implication is that the company has entered a new cycle, and management is willing to invest real money to accompany the race.

It appears that Leapmotor is running smoothly and steadily in the latter half. But Zhu Jiangming told Wallstreetcn that the domestic market cannot accommodate 17 (current) automakers and the elimination tournament continues. What Leapmotor can do is to avoid falling behind and not leave the table prematurely.

Retaking the "50,000" Plateau

After the traditional slack season in February, Leapmotor returned to the 50,000 plateau in March deliveries, a month-on-month increase of about 80%, and a year-on-year growth of 35%. In terms of numbers, Leapmotor remains in the first echelon of new car makers.

Note that in the first quarter of this year, Leapmotor’s monthly deliveries fluctuated; January and February were 32,059 and 28,067 units respectively, and in January, Xiaomi Auto overtook Leapmotor.

In just two months, Leapmotor completed a bottom-rebound. No need for a price war, nor relying on a single model for volume; the B and C series both recovered, the A10 became a hot seller after launch, setting a record for the fastest Leapmotor model to exceed 10,000 pre-orders.

On March 30, Zhu Jiangming posted the previous weekend’s order data in his WeChat moments: 4,394 orders on Saturday, 4,692 on Sunday, over 9,000 combined in two days.

These are not intentions, but real orders, basically equal to delivery numbers. Over 9,000 orders in one weekend means Leapmotor's sales will enter an explosive growth phase starting April.

Some channel insiders analyze that if capacity keeps up, Leapmotor's deliveries may return to over 60,000 units in April.

And this is just the beginning. Next, Leapmotor will launch multiple moves to seize market share in various price segments; the Lafa5-Ultra and high-end model D19 will debut in Q2, and the A series' second model A05 is also ready to launch.

According to Zhu Jiangming’s disclosure to Wallstreetcn, Leapmotor will release a new car every month in the first half of the year, then two more from the C and B series. All planned like a train schedule, with each model’s release and arrival meticulously planned.

Delivery volume and product planning are just half the story; even more attention-grabbing numbers come from overseas.

In the first quarter, Leapmotor exported over 40,000 units — 60% of last year's total and a historic high. Zhu Jiangming candidly said, "Far beyond our expectations." In the interview, he also set the KPI for this year’s overseas sales at 150,000 units, more than double last year.

The domestic market is now a zero-sum game, while overseas expansion has become a key indicator for a new energy vehicle company's future potential. Leapmotor has clearly moved beyond the trial stage and entered the track of large-scale overseas expansion.

With the surge in new cars and an overseas boom, Leapmotor’s second quarter sales will likely increase both year-on-year and month-on-month.

A brand once doubted "how far can low-end high volume go" — where does its resilience come from? Not from an explosive hit, but from a gradually forming system.

Systematic Operations Taking Shape

Leapmotor's growth in recent years has a clear feature: the closer it gets to mainstream price ranges, the more its product strength stands out. The C11 built a stable reputation at the 150,000 price level, the C10 steadily delivers in the family market, the B series has scalable elasticity around 100,000.

But this year, the change is that products are no longer pushed individually, but have formed a matrix. The addition of A10 and D19 has opened the matrix completely for the first time. This change isn't widespread among Chinese NEV makers, but it often determines who can advance to the next stage of competition.

Currently, the NEV sector suffers a common anxiety: the half-life of the new car effect is getting shorter. A new car’s popularity may last just two or three months, then needs a new model to pick up. The whole industry is caught in a "new launch race" — endless new launches, endless marketing topics, endless budget spending to maintain exposure.

An executive at another new maker told Wallstreetcn: the problem with this model is that it builds corporate growth on the premise "there's always something new to launch;” once there’s a gap, sales quickly drop.

Leapmotor took a different path.

According to Jielanlu’s value rankings, in the most competitive 100,000–150,000 range, Leapmotor has six models in the TOP5. The B and C series have been on sale for a while and still stand out in their segments.

They haven’t been abandoned due to time on the market; instead, their reputation and sales continue to accumulate, becoming evergreen. This shows Leapmotor’s products have a systematic differentiation effect.

Industry insiders shared with Wallstreetcn: "Evergreens are harder to make than hits. Hits can come from precise product definition, a great launch event, and intensive marketing. But for a car to stay hot six months or a year after launch depends on product reputation, sales and service satisfaction, and most fundamentally, whether its value can really stand the test of time."

It is often said in the industry, "Internet celebrity products don't last," but Leapmotor's approach is the opposite. In Zhu Jiangming’s eyes, Leapmotor never relies on hits to "bet" on growth, but steadily improves the product curve and cuts costs through self-developed systems.

In the early days, this meant heavier asset investment and longer payback cycles, but once successful, the cost advantage is structural—not by squeezing suppliers for price cuts, but by lowering cost at the R&D and manufacturing level.

This explains why Leapmotor can offer six models in the highly competitive 100,000–150,000 range, each with a competitive value proposition. It's not about losing money for attention, but technical investments reaching a stage where cost advantages are released as a product matrix.

When a car company can keep several models in steady state long-term, its growth mode is naturally more anti-cyclical. In an industry where new cars go out of fashion in three months, this is more valuable than any monthly hit.

Marching Toward the Million Club

After 2026, China’s NEV sector saw obvious polarization: leading companies are advancing with smart technology, medium-sized ones battle for mainstream markets with cost efficiency, while mid-tier brands swing between stability and scale.

Leapmotor has always been upper mid-tier: sizable, but not yet in the industry’s unshakeable ranks. This year, this status may turn a corner.

Looking at Leapmotor’s data for the past three years, it’s always precariously between “steady growth” and “scale leap.” Its product matrix is taking shape, cost structure is continuously optimized, overseas sales have moved from trial to scale, but these factors never converged at the same time before. This year is different: all critical variables are tilting in the same direction.

A10 is entering mass-production, D19 reaches its launch node, B/C series maintain steady output, overseas is in seasonal boom, full-system self-development continues to cut costs. March’s 50,000 units is the result of all these conditions aligning.

Leapmotor this year no longer relies on single models, but a matrix; no longer depends only on the domestic market, but grows on both fronts. This growth style seems less aggressive but is healthier, and is more suited for entry into the million-unit scale.

A million units is not just a sales target, but the threshold to join the “million units per year” club — and few Chinese companies can maintain that level for the long term. In fact, management has already started to bet.

On April 1, Leapmotor announced that Zhu Jiangming and Fu Liquan again increased their holdings, spending 230 million HKD for 5.08 million shares. Since August 2024, the two have nearly 1.2 billion HKD in cumulative additional holdings. In the asymmetric information capital market, this is usually interpreted as insiders believing the current share price undervalues the company’s intrinsic value.

Of course, achieving the million-unit target still faces obvious challenges. Can capacity keep up? Can channel penetration and overseas expansion match the sales growth demand? Can the D series' attempt to uplift the brand succeed? None of these questions have definite answers in advance; they must be tested by real data over the next three quarters.

Zhu Jiangming is well aware. He told Wallstreetcn bluntly, there are about 17 car makers domestically, but the market cannot accommodate that many players. Leapmotor must stay clear-eyed: not getting eliminated requires seriousness, diligence, and relentless effort, advancing a bit each year.

Fortunately, Leapmotor’s certainty is increasingly clear; it has passed the stage where it most needed to prove to the market it could "survive." First quarter data show its product system, cost structure, and globalization capability have formed a relatively robust base.

The foundation for growth is set; next is to see how Leapmotor keeps this momentum and further uses scale to upgrade its brand.

Zhu Jiangming is right; there will be fewer people at the table, and only those who remain qualify to discuss the next step.

Risk Warning & Disclaimer ClauseThe market involves risks, and investment needs caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account individual users’ special investment goals, financial conditions, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article suit their specific situation. Invest at your own risk. ```