China’s Leapmotor Sets Ambitious Goals to Rival BYD in EV Segment
Published: 09 Feb 2026
Author: Precedence Research
While BYD overtook Tesla in China’s EV race in 2025, local challenger Leapmotor has quietly gained ground. Known for no-frills, affordable electric vehicles, the company doubled its 2024 sales last year, reaching nearly 600,000 units, four times its 2023 figures, drawing on its experience in manufacturing security cameras and walkie-talkies.
Touted by industry experts as China’s next BYD, Leapmotor is expanding into international markets. The company aims to sell four million vehicles globally to enter the world’s top 10 carmakers, targeting nearly 1 million sales this year, a 70% increase, driven by its partnership with Stellantis to produce and sell cars in Europe.
“Leapmotor’s overseas expansion will be a major growth driver in the coming years,” founder Zhu Jiangming said at the company’s 10th anniversary in December, noting plans to enter markets in South America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2023, Leapmotor sold a 20% stake to Stellantis for €1.5 billion, enabling the Chinese automaker to produce and sell EVs through Stellantis’ European factories and dealerships.
Leapmotor’s exports surged more than fourfold in 2025 to over 60,000 vehicles, though still far below BYD’s one million overseas sales. Before partnering with Stellantis, the company explored a deal with Volkswagen, but chose Stellantis for its “open, international mindset,” while Volkswagen’s structure resembled that of a Chinese state-owned enterprise, according to a Leapmotor executive.
After strong European sales since its late 2024 debut, Leapmotor plans to produce its B10 electric SUV at Stellantis’ Spain plant this year and is also exploring production of its new B05 electric hatchback there.
“We expect to maintain the same level of cost competitiveness with vehicles built in Europe,” said Tianshu Xin, head of the Leapmotor-Stellantis joint venture, at the Brussels Motor Show.
Zhu founded Leapmotor in 2015 after building his fortune as a co-founder of Dahua Technology, which launched just before China’s internet boom. Dahua started in a local elementary school classroom with just Rmb5,000 ($717, €607) and found success producing walkie-talkies and apartment intercoms, benefiting from China’s rapidly expanding surveillance market.