Leapmotor, the Chinese electric vehicle maker backed by Stellantis, confirmed plans to launch a second vehicle brand as it seeks to expand beyond its current lineup of affordable electric cars.
Speaking during an earnings call on Friday, Leapmotor Vice President Li Tengfei said products under the new brand could debut as early as the end of this year.
“Products from the new brand are expected to debut as early as the end of this year,” Li said during the call.
He added that the new models are likely to be officially launched in the middle or second half of next year.
The confirmation follows an earlier report by Chinese media outlet LatePost, which said Leapmotor intends to establish an independent premium-focused brand targeting vehicles priced above 300,000 yuan ($44,050).
Leapmotor’s current product range mainly focuses on lower-priced electric vehicles, with models currently priced between 65,800 yuan and 269,800 yuan.
According to the LatePost report, the new brand will operate through a separate sales and distribution network independent from Leapmotor’s existing retail system.
The announcement comes as Leapmotor continues to expand both domestically and internationally, despite pressure on profitability.
The company reported first-quarter revenue of 10.82 billion yuan, up 8.0% from a year earlier and representing its strongest first-quarter revenue performance to date.
However, gross margin declined to 9.4% from 14.9% in the same quarter last year, while net loss widened to 390 million yuan from 130 million yuan.
Leapmotor delivered 110,155 vehicles during the January-to-March period, an increase of 25.8% year-on-year, although deliveries fell 45.2% compared with the fourth quarter of last year.
The automaker said overseas shipments reached a record 40,901 units in the quarter, highlighting exports as an increasingly important growth driver for the business.
