Leapmotor's global surge: record quarterly sales, doubled overseas volumes and a growing Australian lineup

Record quarter and a milestone over Japanese brands

GoAuto reports that Chinese electric vehicle newcomer Leapmotor outsold Subaru and Mitsubishi in the global vehicle market for the first time in the April–June 2026 quarter, citing a Nikkei Asia analysis of company disclosures and industry data. Leapmotor's quarterly sales jumped 84 per cent year on year to a record 240,000 vehicles, ahead of Subaru's 230,000 and Mitsubishi's 170,000, and approaching Mazda's 300,000. Nikkei Asia noted it was the first time a Chinese startup founded after 2010 had outsold a Japanese passenger car manufacturer on a quarterly basis. ¹

The same GoAuto report notes that Toyota led the quarter with 2.71 million vehicles sold, down four per cent, with Volkswagen second on 2.07 million, down nine per cent. Most leading car-makers posted weaker sales amid elevated oil prices and slowing global demand, while Leapmotor's growth continued despite China scaling back tax incentives for new-energy vehicles in January. Monthly sales exceeded 100,000 vehicles for the first time in July, and the company has set a sales target of one million vehicles for 2026, above Subaru's forecast of 940,000 for fiscal 2026 and Mitsubishi's target of 857,000. ¹

Overseas sales more than double

Figures presented by Leapmotor International at the launch of the B03X in Spain, reported by CarExpert, show overseas volume reached 105,000 vehicles in the first eight months of 2026 — 121.1 per cent higher than the 47,500 vehicles it sold outside China during all of 2025. The split was 30,000 in the first quarter, 40,000 in the second and another 35,000 across July and August alone. The company now operates in more than 50 markets across five continents with more than 1000 sales and service locations outside China, and Europe remains central to its international business. ⁴

Leapmotor's financial disclosures add further detail. Gasgoo reports the company's 2026 semi-annual report showed first-half exports of 96,294 units, up 372.6 per cent year on year and already exceeding the total for all of 2025. Leapmotor CFO Li Tengfei said on the earnings call that he expects full-year overseas sales to reach 200,000 units, exceeding the initial target range of 100,000 to 150,000 units, with a 2027 target of 350,000 to 400,000 units. ⁵

The broader global picture is one of sustained records. CarExpert reports Leapmotor delivered a record 103,129 vehicles worldwide in August 2026, up 80.72 per cent year on year, following 101,267 in July — the fifth consecutive monthly sales record — bringing January–August global deliveries to 560,883 vehicles, up 70.55 per cent, with cumulative deliveries since 2020 reaching 1,759,320. Giacalone reiterated the one million target at the Spanish launch: "We will make one million vehicles," he told media. CarExpert's own analysis notes the target is not yet secured, requiring an average of 109,779 vehicles per month across the final four months — about 6.4 per cent more than the August record. ⁴

Europe drives the growth

GoAuto, drawing on Nikkei Asia, reports that overseas markets accounted for about 20 per cent of Leapmotor's April–June quarter sales, up sharply from six per cent a year earlier, with more than 80 per cent of those overseas sales coming from Europe. Mobility Global supplied the overseas share estimate. In Italy, data from an Italian industry group showed Leapmotor's EV sales jumped 13-fold year on year to 24,450 vehicles in the January–August period, making it Italy's best-selling EV brand with a 27 per cent share of the EV market, far ahead of second-place Tesla on nine per cent. ¹

Gasgoo reports Leapmotor holds a market share of more than 25 per cent in Italy's pure electric market and, in June, became the best-selling Chinese EV brand in Germany. By the end of June, Leapmotor International had established more than 1000 sales and service outlets in more than 45 international markets, including over 900 in Europe. GoAuto also notes that Stellantis has transferred ownership of a factory in Spain to a joint venture with Leapmotor to produce Leapmotor-branded EVs locally, which could help further expand market share. ¹⁵

Financial results and a trimmed profit target

Gasgoo reports that on August 24, 2026, Leapmotor (9863.HK) released its 2026 semi-annual financial report showing revenue of 38.11 billion yuan for the first half, up 57.2 per cent year on year and a record for the period, with net profit of 210 million yuan, up from 30 million yuan a year earlier and marking the third consecutive profitable half-year. First-half deliveries rose 60.8 per cent to 356,487 units globally. However, CFO Li Tengfei said on the earnings call that achieving the initial full-year net profit target of 5 billion yuan was now difficult, largely due to rising raw material costs, with the company now expecting about 3 billion yuan alongside a comprehensive gross margin of 13 to 14 per cent. ⁵

The same Gasgoo report details the margin picture: comprehensive gross margin was 11.7 per cent in the first half, down 2.4 percentage points from 14.1 per cent in the same period of 2025, though it improved sequentially from 9.4 per cent in the first quarter to 12.6 per cent in the second. On the same day, Leapmotor announced a deepened strategic partnership with China FAW spanning capital, new energy vehicles, intelligent driving, powertrains, batteries, smart chassis, manufacturing, embodied robots and finance. Localised production is also advancing: Gasgoo reports the B10 will start production in the third quarter at the Stellantis Zaragoza plant in Spain, the C10 is already in mass production at the Gurun plant in Malaysia, and Brazil's Goiânia plant plans to mass produce the B10 in the second half of 2027. ⁵

Australia: fast percentage growth from a small base

GoAuto reports Leapmotor recorded 1,022 sales year to date in Australia through the end of August 2026, up 168.2 per cent on the previous corresponding period. CarExpert's figures from the B03X launch show 112 deliveries in August alone, up 286.2 per cent year on year, albeit from a low base. The brand delivered 277 vehicles across the first quarter of 2026 — 61 in January, 46 in February and 170 in March — which, as CarExpert noted, placed it ahead of Stellantis-distributed Jeep and Alfa Romeo for the quarter but behind Fiat. ¹⁴³

CarExpert reports Leapmotor's local range now includes the C10 mid-size SUV, which began Australian deliveries in December 2024, the smaller B10 added late in 2025, and the B05 electric hatch, with the B03X small electric SUV expected to become its fourth model after appearing in Australian Government approval documents. In August, Leapmotor remained far behind the Chinese brands it considers its real competitors: BYD delivered 8231 vehicles in Australia, GWM 4870, MG 4767 and Chery 4238. The B10 is priced from $38,990 drive-away according to CarExpert. ²³

Positioning and product tuning for markets outside China

Speaking with media including CarExpert at the B03X launch in Spain, Leapmotor International's global head of brand strategy, product and marketing, Francesco Giacalone, said the company now had enough data — about 150,000 international sales — to profile its customers, and claimed nine out of 10 would not otherwise have purchased any Stellantis brand. He said Leapmotor customers are on average eight to nine years younger than buyers of established brands, and some might otherwise have bought a used car. "We are not a budget brand," he said. "We are a value for money brand. We are an affordable innovation brand." Stellantis owns roughly 21 per cent of Leapmotor and controls 51 per cent of Leapmotor International, the joint venture handling sales and manufacturing outside Greater China. ²

In a separate conversation with Australian media in China reported by CarExpert in May, Giacalone said Leapmotor is using Stellantis engineering expertise to evaluate vehicle dynamics for export markets before production, and has already made engineering changes for Europe — including revised rear suspension mounting points on the B05 hatch rather than just spring and damper changes, and testing of three suspension setups for the European B03X. He said the current B10's chassis benefited from tuning by the "Stellantis Chassis Master Team", a group of Maserati engineers. A unique Australian tune would depend on local volume: "To justify a unique version for Australia where you change important things… there should be a business case behind the volumes that justify this approach," he told CarExpert. ³

CarExpert also reports the hotter B05 Ultra, revealed at the 2026 Beijing motor show with a 180kW/255Nm rear-mounted motor, a claimed 0–100km/h time as quick as 5.9 seconds and a retuned lowered "Sino-European" suspension setup, is not officially confirmed for export markets, although Giacalone had previously suggested it would join the standard B05 in Australia by early 2027. These figures remain manufacturer claims unless independently verified. ³