Zhu Jiangming wants to pull luxury cars down from their pedestal.
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Author | Chai Xuchen
Editor | Zhou Zhiyu
Leapmotor held its second major launch event of the year back at its home turf.
On the evening of April 16th, Leapmotor entered the full-size SUV battle with its first flagship model, the D19, at a disruptive price point. A large SUV over 5.2 meters in length, offering both six- and seven-seat layouts, dual powertrains (pure electric and range extender), packed with high-end configurations was directly brought by Leapmotor into the 200,000+ RMB price range.
Over the past year, China's large SUV market has already been lively enough. The Li Auto L9, AITO M9, and a batch of other "9-series" new models have made the family flagship SUV one of the clearest high-profit tracks of the new energy era.
Leapmotor also urgently needs to find a new engine for profit growth. In 2025, Leapmotor delivered nearly 600,000 new cars, recorded a net profit of 540 million RMB, and achieved annual turnaround into profit. However, allocated per car, Leapmotor's current net profit per vehicle is only about 900 RMB.
In this cash-burning, heavy-asset car-making industry, thin per-vehicle profits lack resilience against market fluctuations. The low-price, volume-driven strategy can indeed secure stable sales, but cannot support high-level technology investment for the company's future.
This is also why automakers must strive to move "upwards." Shouldering this responsibility for Leapmotor is the D19.
For Leapmotor, the D19 is currently its highest-priced model, but its approach remains the same—still the "high-end alternative route."
At present, consumers have gradually accepted a new rule: cars with more space, better configuration, and higher intelligence should sell for around 400,000 RMB. The arrival of Leapmotor D19 breaks this established impression.
The D19 attempts to challenge the existing price order directly using a full set of class-surpassing hardware. Chairman Zhu Jiangming frankly told Wallstreetcn, "Leapmotor can not only build mainstream cars that sell tens of thousands per month, but also truly build top-end luxury cars that compete with million-level luxury brands."
Looking at its specs, the D19 does not follow the traditional entry-level route. Dual Qualcomm chips, high-voltage platform, large battery, air suspension, LiDAR, and a tri-motor performance version—features usually found in 300,000+ RMB cars—have all been brought down into the 200,000+ RMB range.
This is also why, after the price was announced, the market's first reaction was not "cheap," but "how can it be sold so cheaply?"
The answer likely lies in Leapmotor's underestimated capability: cost control.
Leapmotor Senior Vice President Cao Li said, "We definitely can't build cars at a loss, so there must be a reasonable gross margin, which we will stick to." He mentioned that Leapmotor reduces labor costs and improves quality through automation and intelligent manufacturing, as well as in-house hardware and software development, and compresses overall costs through standardized, universal design.
In other words, the low price of D19 is the result of Leapmotor's manufacturing system. This is also why Leapmotor dares to fight this battle.
In the past two years, Leapmotor has quickly expanded scale with mainstream models like the B series and C series, establishing stable sales among the new forces. But the flip side of scale is that the brand has long remained in mass-market perception—as a maker of value-for-money cars, not necessarily capable of making high-end vehicles.
Leapmotor must break through this boundary.
Zhu Jiangming put the logic quite plainly: "To survive, first, we cannot post losses. Second, we need scale; without scale, there is no future." He also emphasized, "In the near term, getting the scale up is more important than the profit target, because it's a matter of survival."
This logic is especially harsh in today’s auto industry. Relying solely on 100,000–150,000 RMB models to chase volumes may deliver sales but cannot sustain high-level R&D. Smart driving models, electronic architecture upgrades, and energy replenishment systems are all long-term cash-consuming projects. Leapmotor needs products at higher price points to open up profitability, and flagship models to raise the brand’s ceiling.
Cao Li told Wallstreetcn, "Leapmotor can now integrate all the industry's top technologies into this car." At the same time, the D platform represents Leapmotor's highest position, "its positioning and configuration will be at the top."
Cao also said that Leapmotor can not only make mainstream cars that sell tens of thousands each month but can also truly make top-end luxury cars that compete with million-level luxury models, "I also hope that our luxury cars can sell tens of thousands per month."
However, Leapmotor is also well aware that the high-end market cannot be won with just a spec sheet.
Xu Jun revealed that among current D19 order users, more than 70% have a bachelor's degree or above, most are multi-child or three-person families, ages concentrated between 30 and 40, with a replacement rate of 90%, and many are first-tier city users. These consumers are not first-time buyers, and have higher requirements for product, service, and brand.
So Leapmotor is beginning to upgrade its service system as well.
Xu Jun said that not every store can sell the D series, "Of more than a thousand stores, more than 600 are currently qualified." In addition, D19 users enjoy one year of two free uses, home car delivery, and if repairs are not completed in 24 hours are provided with a courtesy car.
If the D19 can gain a foothold, the industry's impact will be direct. The price anchor for large SUVs above 300,000 RMB will loosen. Consumers will recalculate—same size, same configuration, similar experience—is it worth paying tens of thousands more?
If Leapmotor’s “high-config at low cost” model stands, future competition among automakers will go deep into supply chain depth, R&D capability, and organizational efficiency.
Zhu Jiangming’s industry outlook is frank: “The knockout race isn’t over yet. We think another two to three years of this is normal, but after three years, will there be so many new cars every day? I don’t think so.”
The subtext: lively times will pass, only system-based players will remain.
It’s still hard to conclude D19’s final monthly sales. But it has already sent a clear signal: Leapmotor is no longer content to be a gap-filler in the mass market but is proactively entering the most profitable, most competitive core battleground.
The 219,800 RMB price is a ticket to the show. The real outcome depends on whether Leapmotor can prove—high-end markets do not necessarily belong only to high-priced players.
The following are transcripts of dialogues with Leapmotor chairman Zhu Jiangming, COO Xu Jun, and SVP Cao Li:
Q: User profile for D19 orders?
Xu Jun: Highly educated group, more than 70% with a bachelor’s degree, mostly multi-child families or three-person households, with 60% choosing the range extender model, aged 30–40, everyone highly recognizes the pursuit of technology, many are in first-tier cities, and replacement buyers account for nearly 90%.
Q: After D19, how do you hope others see Leapmotor?
Cao Li: Leapmotor simply focuses on making good products, whether it’s the sub-100,000 A series or the near-300,000 D series luxury models, all are priced based on cost, offering better quality and higher configurations at the same price.
Leapmotor can not only make mainstream cars that sell tens of thousands per month, but also make top-end luxury cars that can compete with million-priced models. I also hope our luxury cars can sell tens of thousands per month.
Q: Increasingly, there are three-row SUVs in the 8 and 9 series, and some execs say we should forget about MPVs. What’s your perspective?
Zhu Jiangming: It’s been said that MPV volume would grow rapidly, and now we do see some increase, but not that quickly. From the perspective of overall demand, these several types will still exist in the future.
For large SUVs, the market will split in two directions: one towards small models, like the A series, as the second or third family car—such cars are more popular in developed countries—and one towards large cars for family trips. The middle tier, traditional A- and B-segment sedans, were popular mainly because people couldn’t afford better, so they met only basic transport needs.
In the past, buying a car meant years of savings. Now, with rising salaries, it’s much easier. So cars are developing at both ends; full autonomous driving will push shared cars smaller, while family models, with greater AD penetration, will also get bigger.
Q: Will D19’s pricing squeeze gross margins?
Cao Li: We definitely can’t sell cars at a loss. There must be a reasonable gross margin, and we’ll stick to it. We use automation and intelligent production throughout our factory, not only for components self-developed but also for software and hardware on production lines—self-developed. This saves on labor and ensures good quality.
Additionally, with cost control in intelligent manufacturing, quality is improved, and with scalable, standardized design, we can do universalization well. All these efficiencies mean better quality for the price, so what we offer isn’t too expensive.
Q: Industry is growing in volume, not profit. For cell normalization, Leapmotor does a lot of front-end R&D; your views on industry standardization?
Zhu Jiangming: Li Bin and I went to university at different times, but he said our standardization is excellent, especially around battery cell standards. Leapmotor sold nearly 600,000 cars last year, and this year our goal is 1 million with just three battery cells.
Every industry is forged by competition. Chinese brands are still a small proportion of the world’s 70–80 million passenger cars. We can’t declare victory yet—we need to pursue profits and do even more to build the competitiveness of Chinese brands before we reach 50–60% global share, like air conditioners, refrigerators, TVs, and mobile phones.
Any Chinese product must reach 50–60% global share to cross the threshold. China’s huge demand and cost advantage also make it possible to export to nearby countries—scale is key.
Q: Over 90% of D19 users are replacement buyers, and mostly highly educated, so they have higher requirements for experience and service. What’s different in D19’s service model compared to ABC series?
Xu Jun: Every new Leapmotor car isn’t just a tech upgrade but a service upgrade. With each launch, we raise service standards. We’re committed to “sell a car, make a lifelong friend,” so service pursuits are never-ending.
Not all stores can sell the D series—they must be certified. Of over 1,000 stores, more than 600 are qualified. For pre-sales and after-sales, we aim for warm service. MOT means providing a warm feeling. D19 owners enjoy two free car uses per year, home delivery, and if repairs aren’t fixed in 24 hours, we provide a courtesy car. In other companies, this might seem normal, but you must know we are in the 200,000–300,000 price range, and we offer these services as our definition of Leapmotor’s attitude.
Q: Is there a high component sharing rate between the D platform and B/C series?
Cao Li: In short, the reuse rate between the D platform and B/C series is not high. D platform costs are much higher; you can also see this in its price. Long-term, we want to make the D series more competitive in its class. Although the D series and other platforms don’t share many parts, our architecture is unified, especially the electronic/electrical architecture and CTC battery platform—standardized. Our factories can flexibly switch between platforms.
With platform-based architecture, R&D is more efficient. Opening a new platform requires significant investment, especially for electrical and software systems. Standardization boosts efficiency. Once the D platform scales up, the component cost advantage will show further. Plus, overall investment control remains advantageous.
Q: The A10 sells very well—how do you ensure delivery?
Xu Jun: Launch-to-delivery—this we’ve achieved, but only just. Hot sales exceeded expectations; we fulfilled 30,000 orders as fast as possible. But ramping up the factory always takes time. Here, our all-round self-development is a plus—we can quickly adjust production pace. Leapmotor can always solve problems at the fastest pace.
Cao Li: I said then that A10 sales depend not on market potential but on our plant capacity. Now we’ve hit a bottleneck; I must find ways to increase output.
Q: Right now, cars on the Chinese market are counted in the thousands. How does Leapmotor secure enough profit margin?
Zhu Jiangming: There are indeed too many models now. Tonight alone, six new cars were released. The knockout stage isn’t over. For the next two or three years, that will be normal, but three years later, will there still be so many new cars every day? I don’t think so. To develop a car, we’re the most economical—but all-in, it still costs one billion yuan, and that’s frugal. For a new model, one billion yuan is already saving a lot.
If you sell only a few thousand cars, R&D costs are high, and your plant was set up with hopes of 10,000 per month but only delivers 5,000, costs become astronomical. Cars are very hard to build. In two or three years, there won’t be six new car launches a day; this is the result of competition.
Why do Leapmotor’s models all sell well? We learn from every mistake. Planning errors taught us hard lessons, so we plan and design thoroughly. Since three years ago, every model—from C11, C10, C16—was better than the last.
Looking back at the 2025 B series, all three maintained 10,000 units per month, sometimes more in hot months. The A10 finally became a bestseller with 10,000 per month—making a blockbuster is difficult.
Cao Li: So far, there have been zero cancellations—no one has canceled their order.
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