Leapmotor co-founder and president Wu Baojun has left the company, which will no longer have a president position, according to local media.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Leapmotor's president has reportedly left the company, marking a major change in management at the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company.
Leapmotor co-founder and president Wu Baojun has departed, and the company will no longer have a president, local media outlet Jiemian said in a report today.
Wu joined Leapmotor in May 2020 and was responsible for business development, marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain operations, the report noted.
Prior to joining Leapmotor, Wu worked at Peugeot, GAC Honda, GAC Toyota, andUrtrust Insurance, according to the report.
Separately, another local media outlet, Cailian, later cited sources close to Leapmotor as saying that Wu had not been involved in Leapmotor's operations for a year.
He has been mainly responsible for strategy and government affairs over the past year, and his departure will have little impact on the company's operations, the source said.
Founded in 2015, Leapmotor's on-sale models include the mini EV T03, coupe S01, SUV models C11 and C10, and sedan C01.
The C10 went on pre-sale on January 10, offering extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) versions and battery electric vehicle (BEV) versions. Its official launch date has not yet been set.
Leapmotor delivered a record 18,618 vehicles in December, bringing full-year 2023 deliveries to 144,155 vehicles, up 29.67 percent from 2022.
The company announced on the evening of January 19 that it had received a combined investment of HK$659 million ($84.3 million) from two local government funds.
This is the latest large financing the company has received since the October 26, 2023 announcement of a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) investment from European automotive giant Stellantis.
Shares of Leapmotor, which trade in Hong Kong, sold off after the latest investment was announced, closing down 12.6 percent on January 22.
At press time, the company was down 1.55 percent to HK$22.2, despite Hong Kong stocks generally rising today, with the Hang Seng Index up about 3 percent.
($1=HK$7.8207, $1=EUR0.9166)
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