![\"Leapmotor](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/how-leapmotor-is-disrupting-electric-cars-with-affordable-prices-and-real-profits.jpg\" "\\"Leapmotor")
<\/a><\/p>\nChinese start-up proves you can sell value-led electric cars profitably<\/p>\n
Two recent facts revealed about Stellantis-backed Chinese electric car maker Leapmotor<\/a> shouldn\u2019t both be true at the same time but somehow are.<\/p>\n The first is that the company\u2019s T03<\/a> electric runabout is now the UK\u2019s cheapest car \u2013 \u00a314,495 after a recent \u00a31500 discount applied by Leapmotor to mimic the government grant.\u00a0<\/p>\n The second is that Leapmotor posted its first-ever half-year net profit, elevating it into the very exclusive club of Chinese electric-focused start-ups to have turned margin positive. The only other member is Li Auto, a premium maker of mainly large range-extender\u00a0SUVs.<\/p>\n Any company that can profitably sell cheap electric cars clearly points to the future of the automotive industry, so what\u2019s Leapmotor\u2019s secret?<\/p>\n Leapmotor has so far been one of the quieter Chinese car makers in terms of UK sales, with 790 registrations so far this year to the end of July. That number has been eclipsed by the likes of BYD<\/a>, MG<\/a> and Chery\u2019s Omoda<\/a>\/Jaecoo<\/a>\u00a0brands,\u00a0but then Leapmotor deliveries only began in April.<\/p>\n Along with the budget T03, the only other model it sells is the C10<\/a> mid-size electric SUV, which now has its own thread on motoring forum PistonHeads after interest was sparked by a generous private lease from as little as \u00a3161 a month (which has since ended; now\u00a0it’s \u00a3319 a month with \u00a3319 down).<\/p>\n More models are coming. The B10 compact electric SUV is poised to go on sale soon and Leapmotor\u00a0chief financial officer\u00a0Li Tengfei<\/span>\u00a0announced that the company will reveal its new B05 compact electric hatchback \u2013 a rival to the MG 4<\/a> and Volkswagen\u00a0ID 3<\/a> \u2013 at the Munich motor show<\/a> in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with the compact hatchback, the first of two small cars on a new \u2018A-series\u2019 platform are due next year.<\/p>\n While most global car makers fear the rise of low-cost electrified cars out of China, Stellantis is cheering the growth of this particular competitor. Leapmotor\u2019s non-Chinese sales are handled by Leapmotor International, a joint venture 51% owned by Stellantis since 2023 following a deal in which the company also bought a 20% stake in Leapmotor for \u20ac1.5 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cLeapmotor\u2019s financial performance looks better than most Chinese NEV peers\u2019,\u201d Patrick Hummel, autos analyst at the bank UBS, wrote in a note to investors. \u201cStellantis made a good choice\u201d.<\/p>\n Leapmotor International plans to go global, but aside from some early registrations in Latin America, the bulk of the company\u2019s 20,370 exports in the first half went to Europe. CFO Li\u00a0claimed the company booked 4000 sales in July in the region, in process claiming an impressive 1% of the fussy German car market.<\/p>\n The company claims it now has 550 dealerships in Europe \u2013 including over 50 in the UK\u00a0and a target of 70 by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Neither Leapmotor nor Stellantis breaks out the profitability of the International arm. Li claimed the division is profitable\u00a0but told investors that\u2019s not the priority at this stage. \u201cIn the initial years, the most important job is to boost sales and enhance Leapmotor’s global branding presence,\u201d he said on the company\u2019s first-half earnings call on 18 August.<\/p>\n The small but historically significant net profit of 30 million RMB (\u00a33m) in the first half of 2025 came from a combination of its Chinese operations as well as a sizeable chunk (equivalent to around \u00a320m-\u00a330m) of carbon credits paid by Stellantis to allow it to hit emissions targets in Europe. Subsidises from the Chinese government also helped out, Li said.<\/p>\n Even though it was pushed over the profit line by non-traditional means, Leapmotor is doing a lot better than other start-ups like Nio, Xpeng and Zeekr, all of which are still languishing in the red.\u00a0<\/p>\n Leapmotor started later than its competition, launching its first car in 2019. In the first half of this year, however, Leapmotor sold 221,664 cars in total, up 156%, with another 50,000 added in July. This is well below China\u2019s leader, BYD, at over two million but above Li Auto, which posted sales of 30,731 in July.<\/p>\n