Leapmotor reused parts across models and became China's second profitable EV startup

Leapmotor, founded by Zhu Jiangming (a co-founder of security firm Dahua), spent years unnoticed until 2024, when monthly sales grew from about 10,000 to over 40,000. Its C10 and C16 SUVs share 70–80% of parts — doors, hood, headlights and front seats — and its C-series concentrates in the 150,000–200,000 yuan band at prices roughly half those of comparable six-seat rivals.

The operating design is cost-plus-efficiency: full-domain self-research covers batteries, drives and control, with self-manufacture above 65% and subsystem commonality of 88%; integration like replacing a door-handle controller with logic in the domain controller saves over 100 yuan per car, and doing its own audio tuning saves 100–200 yuan. Plants are mostly leased and cells are bought, keeping assets light.

Sales discipline matters as much as engineering: Leapmotor cut loss-making mini-car orders, kept marketing spend nearly flat while volume doubled, and capped engineers at about 5,000 of 10,000 staff. Gross margin reached 8% in 2024, and the fourth quarter turned profitable — the second new-force maker after Li Auto.

For exports it borrowed the boat: Stellantis invested about 1.5 billion euros for roughly 21% in 2023, and Leapmotor sells through Stellantis's network — 339 European dealer outlets by late 2024 and one-day parts delivery — with local production planned in Stellantis plants by end-2025.