Leapmotor is targeting sales of 500,000 vehicles for the full year in 2025, with a gross margin of more than 10 percent, its management said.
Leapmotor (HKG: 9863) has a sales target of 500,000 vehicles for the full year of 2025, with average monthly sales expected to reach 40,000, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker backed by Stellantis NV (NYSE: STLA) said on its third-quarter earnings call yesterday.
To meet its targets, Leapmotor is expanding production capacity and accelerating channel construction, said Zhu Jiangming, the company's founder, chairman and CEO.
Leapmotor had 698 stores in China at the end of October.
In its earnings report yesterday, Leapmotor said it expected to exceed its full-year sales target of 250,000 units this year.
In the third quarter, Leapmotor delivered a record 86,165 vehicles, up 94.39 percent year-on-year and up 61.70 percent from the second quarter, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The company reported record revenue of 9.86 billion yuan ($1.36 billion) in the third quarter, up 74.3 percent year-on-year and up 83.9 percent from the second quarter, according to its unaudited earnings report released yesterday.
It posted a record gross margin of 8.1 percent in the third quarter, surpassing the 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In 2025, Leapmotor's gross margin would exceed 10 percent, Zhu said.
Deliveries of the company's B-series models are limited by capacity. Two factories in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, are currently producing at full capacity, with a monthly run rate of 40,000 units.
Leapmotor is accelerating the construction of its plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and aims to start production in the first half of next year.
It is also considering building a third plant in Jinhua, which is expected to bring its total design capacity of one million units by the end of next year.
The European market contributed more than 6,000 units to Leapmotor's sales in the third quarter, according to the company.
The European Union is levying tariffs on EVs from China, and it's not a good time for Chinese carmakers to enter overseas markets, Zhu said.
Leapmotor's exports to Europe are subject to a tariff of about 30 percent, and there is also a 1,000 euro shipping fee for a car from China to Europe, he noted.
The company will debut its new model, the B10, the first to be built on the Leap 3.5 architecture, in China on November 15, the first day of the Guangzhou auto show, and the model already made its international debut on October 14 at the Paris auto show.
The B10 is expected to go on sale in March 2025 and deliveries would begin in April. Following the model, Leapmotor will also launch the sedan B01, and the hatchback B05 next year.
Founded in 2015, Leapmotor was one of the first new car-making forces in China, which initially offered only battery electric vehicle (BEV) models but unveiled plans to build extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models in 2022.
The company currently sells the T03, C01, C10, C11, and C16 in China, with all but the T03 offered in both BEV and EREV variants.
($1 = RMB 7.2316)
Leapmotor sees strong revenue growth, record gross margin in Q3
More From CnEVPost
