Is it just a flash in the pan or the beginning of a comeback? Leapmotor proves itself with profits.

The competition in the new energy vehicle market has never been as fierce as it is today. A price war has swept through the industry, technological iterations have accelerated, and capital enthusiasm has cooled. Many once-prominent new energy vehicle startups have quietly faded away during the reshuffle. However, in this red ocean market, Leapmotor, a company once suspected of "falling behind," has once again broken through the encirclement.

In the third quarter of 2025, Leapmotor achieved a net profit of 150 million yuan, reversing the losses of the same period last year and several previous quarters. Behind this report card is the combined effect of a doubling of sales volume and a significant increase in gross profit margin. The financial report shows that in the first half of 2025, Leapmotor delivered 221,664 new vehicles, ranking first among Chinese new energy vehicle startups in terms of sales volume. This represents a 155.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Since March this year, sales have shown a steady growth trend for four consecutive months.

However, the "good news" of profitability cannot cover up the anxiety about survival. Caught between industry giants like BYD and Tesla, as well as leading new energy vehicle startups like Li Auto and NIO, is Leapmotor's "profitability" just a temporary respite through cost control, or is it a real turning point that validates its business model? Is the overseas market, where Leapmotor has heavily invested, a blue ocean leading to the future, or another costly trap? As the industry shifts from a sole focus on sales volume to a dual assessment of "profitability and health," Leapmotor's journey has just begun.

The Shadows Behind the Glitz

However, despite the rising sales volume, Leapmotor faces many crises, especially in terms of finance, which is really worrying.

In September 2025, Leapmotor and its subsidiary, Lingpao Automobile Trading Co., Ltd., were both listed as "dishonest debtors." In simple terms, the court ordered them to repay their debts, but they failed to do so. Even more surprisingly, they were already subject to enforcement for the same case as early as June this year. Strangely enough, Leapmotor is not short of money. It held nearly 29.6 billion yuan in cash in the first half of 2025. So why is it dragging its feet on repaying a debt of just over three million yuan? This move is really hard to understand.

On the other hand, Leapmotor's brand image is completely out of sync with its sales volume. Online, you can hardly hear fans cheering for it, nor can you see any brand loyalty. Instead, there are constant complaints on the owner's forum: "Abnormal noises from plastic parts," "Unable to find after-sales service," etc. On Xiaohongshu, there are also hesitant voices everywhere: "Is this car really worth it?" "Should I dare to buy it?" The screen is full of caution and hesitation.

After all, Leapmotor follows an "ultra-high cost-performance" strategy. Features such as lidar, triple screens, and power-closing doors, which are usually found in mid - to high - end models, are incorporated into a car starting at 120,000 yuan. This is achieved through "full - domain self - research" and strict cost control, such as optimizing the supply chain and improving production efficiency.

However, the "high - configuration, low - price" strategy is a double - edged sword: On the one hand, it has indeed attracted many customers and boosted sales; on the other hand, with such low prices, compromises have to be made in some aspects. Many car owners have reported that the interior looks cheap, there are occasional abnormal noises in the car, and the after - sales service cannot keep up. Although this path allows for rapid progress, whether it is stable remains to be seen.

Can the Overseas Expansion Bear Fruit?

Now, as competition in the domestic market intensifies, going global has become an inevitable choice for all Chinese automakers. For Leapmotor, overseas business is not only a new growth area but also a key factor in winning the recognition of the capital market in the future. The financial report shows that by the third quarter of 2025, Leapmotor's overseas sales and service outlets were close to half of the total, and overseas deliveries have also increased rapidly, truly becoming a "second growth engine."

Leapmotor's success in opening up the overseas market in the past two years is due to its firm commitment to the globalization strategy. In 2024, it reached a cooperation agreement with European automotive giant Stellantis. Stellantis invested approximately 1.5 billion euros, acquiring about 20% of Leapmotor's equity, and they jointly established a joint - venture company, "Leapmotor International." Stellantis holds a 51% stake in this company, which is specifically responsible for Leapmotor's overseas exports and sales. In the words of Zhu Jiangming, the founder of Leapmotor, this is like "changing boats to sail overseas" - by leveraging Stellantis' global distribution network, Leapmotor quickly entered multiple markets in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

However, there are also hidden concerns behind the apparent prosperity of the overseas market. First of all, although this cooperation model allows for a quick start, a large portion of the profits will be shared. Since the joint - venture company is controlled by Stellantis, for every car Leapmotor sells overseas, the profits have to be shared with its partner, and the net profit per vehicle may even be lower than that in the domestic market. The financial report does not separately disclose the exact profit of the overseas business, so the true value of this "second growth engine" remains to be observed.

Moreover, the overseas market is by no means an easy place to succeed. In Europe, Leapmotor not only has to compete with the electrified products of local players such as Volkswagen and Stellantis' brands but also go head - to - head with Chinese peers like BYD and SAIC MG. Additionally, different countries have different regulations, consumer habits vary, and building an after - sales service system requires significant investment of money and time - these are all real challenges. Although Leapmotor has solved the problem of entering the market from scratch with the help of Stellantis' channels, building the brand and cultivating user loyalty from here on out will ultimately depend on its own efforts.

The Battle for Breakthrough Among New Energy Vehicle Startups In the fierce competition among new energy vehicle startups today, Leapmotor is not the only one facing challenges.

Li Auto is currently experiencing the pain of transformation. In the first nine months of this year, Li Auto sold 297,000 vehicles, which is less than half of its annual target of 640,000 vehicles set at the beginning of the year, facing considerable pressure. Although NIO has tried a multi - brand strategy and achieved some initial results, its overall sales volume is still not ideal. It delivered a cumulative total of 201,000 vehicles in the first three quarters, only completing 45% of its annual target.

The problem with Hongmeng Zhixing lies in setting overly ambitious goals. At the beginning of the year, they set a sales target of one million vehicles, more than double last year's performance. However, they have only completed less than 35% so far, and it is almost impossible to achieve the goal.

In comparison, Leapmotor completed 79.1% of its annual sales target in the first three quarters, which is a relatively impressive result. However, the "dishonest debtors" incident exposed this year has indeed cast a shadow over its future. After all, what Leapmotor most needs to work on now may be "elevating the brand." Although it has always emphasized adhering to "long - term technologicalism," in the minds of ordinary consumers, Leapmotor's image is still a bit vague. Unlike Li Auto with its "family - friendly" label, NIO with its reputation for "service," and Tesla with its "technological aura," Leapmotor still lacks a distinctive feature that people can remember.

"Full - domain self - research" is indeed a strong suit, but how to transform this technological advantage into value that users can directly feel and are even willing to pay for is a difficult problem that Leapmotor must solve next.

Technology Decides the Outcome In the development of the new energy vehicle industry, an obvious fact is that most automakers face a common problem: how to achieve profitability. For Leapmotor, whether it can maintain its existing advantages while achieving a real qualitative breakthrough will directly determine its industry position and market share in the era of stock competition in the future.

First of all, consolidating its "cost - performance" foundation while actively expanding the overseas market is the direction where Leapmotor needs to focus its efforts at present. The success of Leapmotor's C11 and T03 models is precisely because they accurately capture the needs of practical users - high - end configuration, reasonable price, and reliable battery range. To maintain this momentum, Leapmotor must further optimize its supply chain and gain a deeper understanding of user needs.

Secondly, Leapmotor must achieve breakthroughs in key technological fields. The new energy vehicle is the best application scenario for intelligent technologies. If Leapmotor can deeply integrate its self - developed intelligent driving system with the AI cockpit to truly provide intelligent, proactive, and personalized service experiences, it will be an important turning point. Zhu Jiangming recently mentioned that Leapmotor is developing the "Lingxin 02" chip and the next - generation 800V high - voltage platform, which are planned to be mass - produced in 2026. This is likely to be a crucial step for Leapmotor to break through technologically.

In addition, ecological synergy and brand upgrading are becoming increasingly core to competition. Whether it is the charging network, energy services, or the Internet of Vehicles platform, the value lies not only in whether each individual aspect can make a profit but also in whether it can form a seamless experience loop with the vehicle itself.

Conclusion:

Leapmotor's profitability this quarter is undoubtedly an important signal: it proves the possibility for a Chinese new energy vehicle startup to "survive" in the fierce competition. However, there is still a long way to go from "surviving" to "thriving."

This article is from the WeChat official account "Financial Insights" (ID: jrwaican), written by External Financial Observer. It is published by 36Kr with permission.