Leapmotor will unveil its first D-series model next month, stepping up competition in the mid-to-large SUV segment as the Chinese electric vehicle maker pushes into higher price tiers.
The company’s new flagship, the D19, will make its global debut on October 16, Leapmotor said on Weibo on Wednesday. A teaser poster indicated the model is an SUV, and its naming suggests it could become the brand’s highest-priced vehicle, as the number 9 typically denotes supremacy.
Spy photos of an undisguised D19 circulated briefly on Chinese social media last week before being taken down. Leapmotor currently sells models across its T, B and C series, with the C-series as its priciest lineup, earning the company the nickname “half-price Li Auto” due to lower pricing compared with Li Auto’s extended-range EVs.
Senior vice president Cao Li said in July that the first D-series model would target a price point of around RMB 300,000 ($42,180) and feature Leapmotor’s most advanced technologies. Founder and chairman Zhu Jiangming has previously said the D series will enter mass production in the first quarter of 2025, debuting the firm’s next-generation central domain controller powered by Qualcomm’s dual Snapdragon 8797 chips.
Leapmotor plans to roll out 13-14 models across its A, B, C and D series over the next three years, covering the RMB 60,000 to RMB 300,000 market range. COO Xu Jun recently shared images of camouflaged D-series prototypes, including an SUV and an MPV, undergoing hot-weather testing in Turpan, Xinjiang.