Leapmotor hat die Marktkapitalisierung von 100 Milliarden Yuan und einen Gewinn von 30 Millionen Yuan überschritten und steht vor neuen Herausforderungen.

After achieving a turnaround in its latest semi - annual report, Leapmotor (9863.HK) has once again received positive news.

On August 20th, the market reported that FAW Group is planning to invest in Leapmotor, with a potential shareholding ratio of up to 10% and become its strategic shareholder. Currently, the plan has been circulated and promoted among multiple departments within FAW.

If the news is true, this will be another in - depth cooperation between a traditional automaker and a new - energy vehicle startup, following Stellantis Group's investment in Leapmotor in 2023.

Regarding this, Caijing Auto contacted Leapmotor for verification, and the response was "no comment".

An automotive industry analyst told Caijing Auto: "This news is not groundless. FAW Group has been slow in the new - energy vehicle field, and the State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has increased the pressure on its performance assessment. The recent high - level changes and frequent interactions with Leapmotor are all closely related to the KPIs set by SASAC for FAW. A 10% shareholding might just be the first step."

In fact, there have been signs of cooperation between the two sides for a long time. On March 3rd this year, FAW Group and Leapmotor signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation". The content not only covers joint development of new - energy passenger vehicles and cooperation on auto parts but also includes further exploration of the possibility of capital cooperation to achieve resource synergy across the entire industrial chain. Zhu Jiangming, the founder and chairman of Leapmotor, previously revealed that the two sides have been discussing capital cooperation for many years, and "more substantial projects will be implemented quickly this year".

The market has responded positively to this potential cooperation. After the news spread, the stock price of FAW Jiefang hit the daily limit, and the stock price of Leapmotor once soared to HK$76.3, with its market value exceeding HK$100 billion. As of the close on the 20th, Leapmotor closed at HK$73.5 per share, with a market value of HK$98.267 billion.

Some analysts pointed out that this rumor has created a favorable window for Leapmotor to conduct refinancing in the Hong Kong stock market.

Turnaround in Semi - annual Report: Net Profit of 30 Million Yuan "Just Made It"

On August 18th, Leapmotor released its most impressive interim performance report since its listing: it achieved a positive semi - annual net profit for the first time, becoming the second new - energy vehicle startup in China to turn a profit in half a year.

The financial report shows that in the first half of 2025, Leapmotor achieved an operating income of 24.25 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 174.0%; the gross profit margin increased by 13 percentage points to 14.1%; the net profit attributable to shareholders reached 30 million yuan, reversing the loss of 2 billion yuan in the same period in 2024.

However, a closer look at its profit structure reveals that the profitability of its core business is still not stable. The net profit of 30 million yuan only accounts for 0.12% of the 24.25 billion yuan in revenue, indicating a very limited profit scale. More notably, the company's actual operating loss reached 90 million yuan. The positive net profit mainly relied on a net financial income of 110 million yuan and a 10 - million - yuan gain from associated companies.

In addition, the transparency of non - automotive business revenue in the financial report has also raised questions from some investors. According to Leapmotor's senior management during the earnings conference call, non - automotive revenue includes about 500 million yuan in government subsidies, 200 - 300 million yuan in carbon credit income, 200 million yuan in R & D income from FAW, and 100 million yuan in trading income, totaling nearly 1.1 billion yuan.

"There is a fundamental difference between a net profit of 30 million yuan and 300 million yuan. The current profit scale is too small and of low quality. There is a possibility of financial technical operations, which may be closely related to subsequent capital operations," an analyst told Caijing Auto.

Since the beginning of this year, the refinancing market in the Hong Kong stock market has significantly recovered. Companies such as BYD and Xiaomi have all raised large amounts of funds through share placements. Leapmotor also announced in March this year that it plans to privately place 70.21 million shares to four state - owned institutions, raising 2.6 billion yuan. Achieving a positive net profit will undoubtedly help improve its valuation and market recognition during refinancing.

The above - mentioned industry analyst said: "This time, Leapmotor managed to achieve a net profit of 30 million yuan. Although the scale is small, it can largely increase the placement price and make it easier to sell at a good price."

Under High Growth, How to Solve the New Problems of Profit Quality and Brand Upgrading?

Despite the impressive financial report data, Leapmotor still faces deep - seated challenges such as compressed gross profit margins and uncertainties in brand upgrading.

On the positive side, Leapmotor has successfully carved out a niche in the mainstream market of 100,000 - 200,000 yuan with its differentiated positioning of "low price, high configuration" and "half - price Li Auto". In the first half of 2025, its sales volume reached 220,000 units, ranking first among new - energy vehicle startups, and the monthly delivery in July exceeded 50,000 units. At the same time, the expansion in the overseas market is progressing steadily, with more than 20,000 units exported in the first half of the year.

Zhu Jiangming attributes the profit to two strategies: first, adhering to in - house R & D across the board, with the self - developed proportion of core components exceeding 65%, which promotes platformization and cost optimization; second, spreading fixed costs through economies of scale. He expects that when the annual sales volume reaches 500,000 - 600,000 units, the company will achieve stable break - even.

In terms of product lines, Leapmotor is gradually improving its layout and entering a period of rising sales. The B - series covers the 100,000 - 150,000 - yuan market, and the C - series, as the mainstay, continues to contribute to sales. Among them, the C10 has ranked first in the SUV segment for three consecutive months. In addition, after the sales of the B - series stabilize, Leapmotor also plans to launch the D - series flagship models priced in the 200,000 - 300,000 - yuan range in 2026 to target the high - end market.

Based on the strong sales performance, Leapmotor's management is optimistic about short - term sales, expecting the sales volume in August to be significantly higher than the 50,000 units in July. In addition, Leapmotor has raised its annual sales guidance from 500,000 - 600,000 units to 580,000 - 650,000 units and plans to challenge an annual sales volume of 1 million units next year.

However, behind the rapid expansion, the "low - price, high - volume" strategy also brings the risk of solidifying brand perception. Currently, Leap，motor's main market is still concentrated in the 100,000 - 150,000 - yuan range, and consumers' perception of its brand is mainly "high cost - performance". Whether the upcoming D - series can successfully break this mindset and smoothly enter the high - end market remains to be verified by the market.

More practical pressure comes from the profit margin. As the sales proportion of low - price models such as the B10 and C10 increases, Leapmotor's average revenue per vehicle in the second quarter of 2025 has dropped from 114,000 yuan in the first quarter to 98,000 yuan, and the gross profit margin has also declined from 14.9% to 13.6%. Against the backdrop of the ongoing fierce price war in the industry, especially in the 100,000 - 200,000 - yuan main battlefield where BYD, Geely, Tesla and other companies are competing, whether Leapmotor can continuously reduce costs to support its gross profit margin will be a key test.

Facing these challenges, Leapmotor's management has conveyed firm confidence. Li Tengfei, the vice - president of Leapmotor, said at the interim earnings conference: "Based on the performance in the first half of the year, Leapmotor's overall gross profit margin in the second half of the year will maintain a good level and trend, and we will strive for a slight increase."

Notably, in July this year, the carbon credit transfer agreement reached between Leapmotor and Stellantis will bring new profit supplements. According to CITIC Securities' calculations, the selling price of Leapmotor's carbon credits per vehicle may exceed 1,000 euros (approximately 8,353.3 yuan). Assuming that its annual sales volume in Europe reaches the expected target of 50,000 units, it can bring about 51.88 million euros (approximately 430 million yuan) in revenue.

The landscape of the new - energy vehicle industry is still unstable, and the elimination competition continues. Although Leapmotor has achieved landmark breakthroughs in sales and finance, its profit sustainability, brand upgrading, and capital endurance still face severe tests. Leapmotor's real path to large - scale profitability has just begun.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Caijing Auto". The author is Caijing Auto. It is published by 36Kr with permission.