Company:Leapmotor

Short description: Chinese EV startup

Leapmotor

Type	Public
Traded as	SEHK: &sc_lang=en
Industry	Automotive industry
Founded	December 2015 (December 2015)
Founder	Fu Liquan, Zhu Jiangming
Headquarters	Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Owner	Stellantis (20%)
Subsidiaries	Leapmotor International (49%)
Website	www.leapmotor.com

Leapmotor (Chinese: 零跑; simplified Chinese: 零跑汽车; traditional Chinese: 零跑汽車; pinyin: Líng pǎo qìchē; literally: 'Leap car') is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Hangzhou, China, specializing in developing electric vehicles.

History

Zhu Jiangming (2023)

Leapmotor was founded in December 2015 and is based in Hangzhou, China.

On June 13, 2018, at CES Asia, Leapmotor announced that the first domestically made artificial intelligence (AI) chip, dubbed “Lingxin 01” has entered the integration verification phase. The AI chip was co-developed by Leapmotor and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd (Dahua Technology), and was expected to be tested on vehicles in the second quarter of 2019. The Lingxin 01 is designed for autonomous vehicles, and features the capability of deep learning and leading computing power. The company vertically integrates high margin components by developing and building its own components such as electric traction motors, vehicle CPU, and LED lighting.

In October 2018, Leapmotor announced plans to roll out 3 new models over the span of 2018 to 2021, including the LP-S01, the LP-T03 and the LP-C11, based on the S, T and C vehicle platform respectively.

In June 2019, the first product, the Leapmotor S01 electric 2-door coupe, is launched on the Chinese market. A prototype was shown at the 2017 Guangzhou Auto Show. At that time, the company had raised RMB 380 million in capital, and construction of the factory had started. The S01 was initially shown as the LP-S01 coupe earlier in 2018. The first deliveries occurred of the S01 in June 2019.

In May 2020, Leapmotor and state-owned Chinese automaker FAW forged a strategic partnership to jointly develop intelligent electric vehicle models. The agreement also involves the joint cooperation on R&D, manufacture, production and application of intelligent electric vehicle core parts, and the further research on the development of key basic technologies and the innovation of production measures.

On May 11, 2020, Leapmotor officially launched its second mass-production EV, the Leapmotor T03 electric city car. The vehicle was launched with a total of 3 models, the price range after subsidy is 65,800-75,800 yuan (~US $9,280 – US $10,691). The Leapmotor T03 is equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of 36.5 kWh, and a 403 km (250 mi) NEDC cruising range.

In November 2020, Leapmotor officially launched the third mass-production EV, the Leapmotor C11 electric crossover, based on the 2019 C-More concept. The C11 is powered by dual electric motors jointly rated at 400 kW (536 hp) and 720 N⋅m (73.4 kg⋅m; 531 lb⋅ft) of torque. The Leapmotor C11 have around 600 km (373 mi) of driving range.

Expansion and cooperation with Stellantis

In August 2023, the Chinese subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, FAW-VW, initiated talks with Leapmotor in order to potentially acquire a platform for building new electric cars of the Jetta brand intended for the Chinese market. In October of the same year, the competing international conglomerate Stellantis in turn formalized its interest in the Chinese startup Leapmotor by acquiring a 20% stake worth approximately EUR 1.5 billion.

As part of the cooperation, an agreement on strategic and extensive cooperation was signed, under which a company joint-venture Leapmotor International was established with a 51:49 share division. In this way, it will be possible to distribute and produce Leapmotor cars on global markets outside China, providing easier conditions for the company's planned expansion. This was announced by the European premiere at IAA Mobility 2023 in September, during which the first global product was presented - the large SUV Leapmotor C10.

Vehicles

Current models

Model	Photo	Specifications
S01		Body style: Sports car Class: (S) Sport compact Doors: 2 Seats: 2 Battery: 35.6 kWh (380 and 380 Pro) or 48 kWh (460 and 460 Pro) Li-ion Production: June 2019–2021 Revealed: November 2017 (Auto Guangzhou)
T03		Body style: Hatchback Class: (A) City car Doors: 5 Seats: 4 Battery: 21.6 kWh, 31.9 kWh, 38 kWh or 41 kWh Li-ion Production: May 2020–present Revealed: March 2020
C11		Body style: stationwagon Class: (J) Mid-size SUV Doors: 5 Seats: 5 Battery: 30.1 kWh (EREV 180), 43.74 kWh (EREV 285), 69.2 kWh (500), 89.55 kWh (650) or 89.97 kWh (580 AWD) Li-ion Production: 2021 to present Revealed: December 2020 (Auto Guangzhou)
C01		Body style: Sedan Class: (D) Mid-size sedan Doors: 4 Seats: 5 Battery: 62.8 kWh (525), 78.54 kWh (606) or 90 kWh (717 and 630 AWD) Li-ion Production: 2022 to present Revealed: May 2022
C10		Body style: stationwagon Class: (J) Full size SUV Doors: 5 Seats: 5-7 Battery: Production: to commence Revealed: September 2023 (2023 Munich Motor Show)

Leapmotor C01 is the first electric vehicle with battery cells directly integrated in the underbody.

Concept vehicles

Leapmotor has revealed 1 concept vehicle.

Model	Photo	Specifications
C-More		Body style: Crossover SUV Class: (J) Mid-size Doors: 5 Seats: 7 Battery: Revealed: April 2019 (Auto Shanghai)

Sales

Year	Sales
2019	1,000
2020	10,266
2021	43,121
2022	111,168
2023	144,155

See also

• Aion
• BYD
• HiPhi
• Nio
• Singulato
• Min'an Electric