LEAPMOTOR wants to leverage B01 to scale up again

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Chai Xuchen

This year, a significant amount of attention in the new energy vehicle sector belongs to Leapmotor.

Financially, it achieved a positive net profit in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching its quarterly profit target a year ahead of schedule; in terms of scale, it delivered 87,552 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 162%, and in March, it ascended to the throne of new energy vehicle leaders; in terms of cooperation, it has partnered with FAW, signing an agreement for a model; in terms of international expansion, it has plans to establish a factory in Europe.

This low-profile new force is ushering in its golden age.

However, in such a competitive automotive market, Leapmotor also needs to scale up to gain a competitive advantage. Leapmotor Chairman Zhu Jiangming hopes that the monthly sales of Leapmotor can reach a higher threshold this year.

After the B10 became a bestseller, Leapmotor is once again launching its B series, this time targeting young consumers with the release of the B01, its first pure electric sedan, positioned as "the most beautiful intelligent sedan in the 150,000 yuan range," similar to the popular XPeng MONA M03 from last year. It seems that Leapmotor is aiming to capture XPeng's market share this time.

Following the release of this car, Leapmotor's B series product matrix will cover three mainstream categories: SUVs, sedans, and crossovers. In Leapmotor's plan, the B01 will form a "twin star" matrix with the B10, becoming the "expansion" model for Leapmotor in mainstream global consumer markets.

Although fewer companies are discussing aggressive intelligent driving at this year's Shanghai Auto Show, versions equipped with lidar still accounted for more than half of the sales of many new cars. Among them, the B10 completed over 8,000 deliveries within 13 days of its launch, with lidar versions accounting for 51% and mid-to-high configurations accounting for 95%. This indicates that market choices are also urging Leapmotor's intelligent driving to evolve further.

Zhu Jiangming also expressed that Leapmotor did not make significant investments in intelligent driving in the early stages and has been following a strategy until it began investing in talent last year. "Since we started developing after obtaining chips in September last year, we aim to achieve point-to-point commuting in the second quarter and hope to reach the industry's top tier in urban assisted driving in the third to fourth quarters."

Regarding growth in scale, another advantage for Leapmotor is the overseas market. Since partnering with Stellantis, Leapmotor's overseas market has accelerated significantly, with plans for localized production in Europe.

Leapmotor Senior Vice President Cao Li revealed: "Currently, we are in the final site selection decision phase in Europe, with Spain being a key consideration. In terms of timeline, we hope to localize by mid-2026."

Zhu Jiangming stated, "We started launching products overseas in the fourth quarter of last year, selling over 13,000 units, which is a good start. We believe achieving annual overseas sales of 50,000 to 80,000 units is attainable."

With domestic and international markets driving each other, Leapmotor's ambitions for scale are expected to become a reality

The following is a dialogue with the founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, Zhu Jiangming, Senior Vice President of Nio, Cao Li, and Vice President of Nio, Zhou Ying (edited without affecting the original meaning):

Q: At the beginning of this year, from the very popular universal intelligent driving to now assisted driving, intelligent driving has actually hit the brakes. When intelligent driving cools down, how does Nio view this situation, and will such a situation change Nio's strategy for intelligent driving?

Zhu Jiangming: From Nio's perspective, intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving) is definitely the direction of the future; it is a major direction.

Of course, in this process, there have indeed been some misjudgments and misleading information. We have also seen many videos, such as being able to sleep in the car or driving without paying attention, which may mislead our users and lead to safety issues. Therefore, I think the first step now is to do a good job in promoting real capabilities and establishing rules to avoid safety accidents.

In the gradual process, we will continuously enhance the capabilities of assisted driving while fully considering safety. In the overall future design of intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving), we need to ensure that safety and the entire AEB process are comprehensive and reliable. Only then can we better promote the entire intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving).

Q: When do you think the technology for intelligent driving will mature?

Zhu Jiangming: I believe the speed will become faster and the maturity will increase. For example, the number of takeovers on highways is decreasing, and urban areas are becoming more mature. We believe that the implementation of L3 within 3 to 5 years is still possible.

Q: What are the unique aspects of Nio's intelligent driving? Are there any opportunities or technological highlights in the industry that have not been noticed?

Zhu Jiangming: In the area of intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving), Nio did not make significant investments initially and has been following a strategic approach. However, starting from early 2024, we will expand from 300 people to over 500 by the end of the year, attracting many excellent talents in intelligent driving. Nio itself has a solid foundation in AI technology and technical capabilities, and this period is when Nio is making the fastest progress.

From obtaining the chips in September last year to starting development and mass production in April this year, we are working on implementing algorithms. We aim to achieve user point-to-point commuting in the second quarter and hope to have assisted driving in all cities reach the industry's first tier in the third to fourth quarters.

Regarding innovation, we hope to make breakthroughs in safety compared to other competitors in the industry. We aim to bring AEB to the most advanced level in the industry, prioritizing safety in intelligent driving, which is what Nio intends to do Question: In the era of intelligent chain masters, how does Leapmotor carry out digital transformation or empower suppliers to enjoy the dividends of the digital age together?

Zhu Jiangming: I think intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving) is somewhat similar to doing internet business. What is the biggest resource in internet business? It is data. Why has the era of big data created so many internet companies? The same goes for intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving). In addition to continuously updating and training algorithms, it requires users to accumulate data during the actual driving process and solve the problems they encounter, which is essential for making the intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving) algorithms more stable and resolving the issues encountered.

Therefore, I believe that ultimately, intelligent driving (end-to-end assisted driving) needs to be done well by the whole vehicle manufacturers because they are closer to the users, connected with them, and can grasp more information to continuously improve the issues users face during driving, thus solving all problems.

Question: What is your view on the recent changes in international trade policies, and what is Leapmotor's globalization strategy going forward?

Zhu Jiangming: First of all, the European Union is becoming increasingly friendly towards China. Of course, to sell good cars globally, even if there were not significant tariffs before, for larger markets, a localization strategy must be adopted.

Only in this way can we better understand customer needs, supply goods more timely, and have better cost advantages without having to deal with transportation issues. Therefore, we believe that regardless of how the external environment changes, this is a task that must be done. From Leapmotor's perspective, we will firmly pursue globalization while also implementing localization.

Question: What are our international sales targets for this year?

Zhu Jiangming: In terms of overseas sales, we started launching products overseas from the fourth quarter of last year. Last year, we sold more than 13,000 units, which was a good start. In the first quarter of this year, not only in wholesale but also in retail, we saw very rapid growth in actual transactions with end customers. We believe that achieving overseas sales of 50,000 to 80,000 units for the whole year is attainable.

Question: Is there anything you can disclose about the construction of terminal channels?

Cao Li: In terms of terminal channels, we currently have about 1,500 outlets, including 500 overseas. Domestically, we adopt a "1+N" layout model. The so-called "1+N" means that each region must have one fully functional traditional 4S model, which provides delivery and maintenance services for the entire lifecycle, as well as radiating to surrounding areas with supermarkets, city exhibition stores, or satellite stores.

Therefore, this year, the growth rate of channel layout is very fast. After covering various counties and cities nationwide, we will focus on building service outlets and making our service quality a new goal and a golden signboard this year. Regardless of service speed, service quality, or outlet layout, we will focus on extending our efforts in this channel Question: How does Leapmotor B01 attract young people?

Cao Li: From the product perspective, one key point to attract young people, especially for sedans, is definitely the aesthetics. Therefore, we have incorporated a lot of elements that young people like in the design, including color design. Moreover, our entire design team is very young, with our main designers being post-90s.

Question: A few days ago, a competitor mentioned that "the capabilities that future car companies need to have to stay on the table are scalable sales capabilities and controllable AI capabilities." Do you agree with this statement? What do you think are the core capabilities and underlying strengths needed to continue participating in market competition in the future?

Zhu Jiangming: The market has indeed eliminated many car companies. The competition will now be between three types of enterprises: new force car companies, domestic traditional car companies, and joint venture car companies. It will take another three years to basically determine the landscape, which means it will become clearer. The next three years are crucial for the sales of every car company.

This year, six to seven hundred models are being launched, with only 120 new models. Competing in such a large red ocean is absolutely brutal. A price war is inevitable, and Leapmotor is fully prepared and confident to achieve the set sales targets this year.

Question: What are the differences in preferences between overseas markets and the domestic market when it comes to car selection? Previously, when the B10 was launched, it was mentioned that local production in Europe might happen around mid-year. Is there a specific timeline for the production line in Europe?

Cao Li: Most overseas users are currently focusing on Europe, where the size of vehicles preferred is one or two levels smaller than that of domestic users. Additionally, they may place more emphasis on the driving experience rather than the comfort of the rear seats or large space.

On the other hand, due to the lack of advanced and intelligent new energy vehicles like those in China, European users previously did not have a strong concept of this. However, once they see Leapmotor's cars, with their large screens, comfortable seats, and excellent intelligent features, they find them very attractive. This gives our cars a strong competitive edge in overseas markets, especially in Europe, as people generally have a common preference for new things, new technologies, intelligent technologies, and good designs.

Currently, Europe is still in the final site selection decision phase, with Spain being one of our key considerations. In terms of timeline, we hope to accelerate the process and aim for localized production by mid-2026.

Question: When does Leapmotor expect to achieve a combined domestic and international sales level of 80,000 to 100,000 units per month?

Zhu Jiangming: We still need to see if there is a possibility of "reaching higher" this year.

**Question: There is a particularly difficult issue in car manufacturing, which is to create a personalized car that works well regionally while also making a horizontal model that performs well in the market. We are currently working on internationalization, and the B series is doing better and better. How do we make this trade-off? How can we sell the models well in the Chinese market while also finding ways to bring these cars overseas? This is something that overseas car companies and leading manufacturers are doing; they adapt overseas designs for the Chinese market while we focus on mainstream models in China and then modify them for overseas What are the difficulties and solutions behind this?

Zhu Jiangming: Leapmotor's products have always been quite aesthetically pleasing and not overly distinctive; the more you look at them, the better they seem. Our products have a European style that aligns well with European aesthetics. The product has been validated, as the best-selling region for Leapmotor products overseas is Germany, with the highest sales in Germany. Before Leapmotor went global, including the C10, we later collaborated with overseas partners, but the designs were all based on a global design style and aesthetic. Therefore, our products are very easy to internationalize, and the proportion of the C10 is also very high. I believe the B10 and B05 products are even more suitable for overseas markets, and globalization should be completely feasible.

Question: Can you elaborate on the cooperation with FAW in March? Will there be any specific collaborations this year? Additionally, I see that six models will be launched this year, and there may also be high-end models. There is information online suggesting that the most expensive model will compete with the L9 and M9. Can you share more details?

Zhu Jiangming: Our cooperation with FAW involves capital, as well as platform, product, and component collaboration. The biggest progress in March was the joint development of a model; the cooperation agreement has been signed and is currently in progress, which has already been realized.

Cao Li: In terms of product strategy, we will announce the D series models this year for our 10th anniversary, positioned at 250,000 to 300,000 yuan. We are very competitive against high-end luxury models priced above 500,000 yuan in the market, as we will see significant improvements in configuration, design, and quality, representing Leapmotor's highest-end models in terms of brand and technology.

Question: How does Leapmotor balance cost-effectiveness with high-end positioning? If we move further towards high-end, what exciting configurations or technological highlights can we expect?

Zhu Jiangming: Leapmotor's characteristic is comprehensive self-research, based on technology. Therefore, our technological accumulation allows our products to perform ahead of the industry. Secondly, regarding cost pricing, we hope that Leapmotor's products are priced based on productization. For high-end products, we still adhere to these two principles. High-end means using the best and most advanced technology currently available in the industry, as well as configurations. We must have the configurations that others have, and we should also have configurations that others do not. The third aspect is pricing; even for luxury and high-end products, we still adopt cost-based pricing