Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor expects to post its first full-year profit this year, supported by strong vehicle sales and improved financial performance over recent quarters, its founder and chief executive said.
The company is on track to sell close to 600,000 vehicles in 2025 and achieve annual profitability, founder, chairman and CEO Zhu Jiangming said in an internal letter marking Leapmotor’s 10th anniversary. “2025 marks our 10th year since founding the company. We have achieved the goals set five years ago and delivered a solid performance,” Zhu wrote in the letter, which was shared on the company’s social media channels. “This has been Leapmotor’s most fruitful year,” he added.
Founded in 2015, Leapmotor reported net income of RMB 150 million ($21.3 million) in the third quarter, its second consecutive profitable quarter, after posting a net loss of RMB 130 million in the first quarter amid broader industry weakness. The automaker delivered a record 70,327 vehicles in November, bringing total deliveries for the first 11 months of the year to 536,132 units. On Nov. 15, the company surpassed 500,000 year-to-date sales, reaching its original 2025 target ahead of schedule.
Zhu reiterated that Leapmotor aims to challenge a one million vehicle sales target next year, citing efficiencies from its in-house manufacturing strategy. “We have established a competitive system for in-house manufacturing of core components,” he said. “As sales scale continues to expand, the advantages of in-house developed and self-produced parts will be further leveraged.”
Leapmotor’s expansion beyond China is also accelerating. Zhu said the company added 35 overseas markets this year and now operates more than 800 overseas stores, with annual international deliveries expected to exceed 60,000 vehicles. He said cooperation with Stellantis is helping speed the company’s globalisation. Stellantis invested €1.5 billion in Leapmotor in 2023, acquiring around 20% of the Chinese automaker and becoming its largest external shareholder.
Despite the progress, Zhu cautioned against complacency. “We cannot continue to see ourselves as merely a ‘new force in the auto industry,’” he said, adding that Leapmotor must meet the standards of a sustainable, globally respected automaker as it works toward its 2026 goal of selling one million vehicles.