The new energy vehicle market of 150,000 to 200,000 yuan is accelerating reshuffle, Leapmotor steadily seeks victory to surpass Ai An

In September, various regions have increased subsidies for "scrappage and replacement" of vehicles, and the auto market has gradually entered the peak sales season of "Golden September and Silver October". Under this resonance, new energy vehicles continue to sell well, and the performance of various players is accelerating differentiation.

The latest weekly sales ranking of new forces shows that in the second week of September (September 9th to September 15th), Li Auto, Aito, and LEAPMOTOR took the top three spots, and the new pattern of "Li-Ai-Leap" is gradually solidifying. Among them, LEAPMOTOR has been eye-catching since last month, ranking in the top three for six consecutive weeks, with the latest weekly sales reaching 7,900 units, setting a new record. It has pulled away from the second-tier players such as ZEEKR and XPeng, surpassing the former sales leader GAC Aion among all new energy brands.

A unique "steady and seeking victory" strategy

As the industry shifts towards new energy, product definitions and the needs of mass market users are rapidly changing. Traditional car manufacturers are constrained by "historical burdens" and find it difficult to adjust quickly. This provides an opportunity for new players in the car manufacturing industry to surpass. From the earliest Li Auto to the current LEAPMOTOR, they have been continuously advancing in the entire new energy vehicle market.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that in August this year, the retail market share of mainstream domestic new energy vehicles was 73%, an increase of 3 percentage points year-on-year; the market share of joint venture brand new energy vehicles was only 3.8%, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points year-on-year; and the market share of new forces was 16.0%, an increase of 2 percentage points year-on-year.

Competition in the mid-range market is the most intense, with strong competitors such as Aion, Geely, and Changan gathering here. The reason LEAPMOTOR stands out is due to its successful strategy and positioning.

Unlike some competitors pursuing high premiums brought by brand effects, in the eyes of Zhu Jiangming, founder, chairman, and CEO of LEAPMOTOR, cars are ultimately durable means of transportation. Regardless of the temptations, high profit margins, or market space, LEAPMOTOR will always adhere to positioning cars as consumer goods for the masses, with UNIQLO in the clothing industry as a model for LEAPMOTOR to learn from.

In terms of pricing, LEAPMOTOR's products are mainly concentrated between 150,000 and 200,000 yuan, with the lowest being the previous T03 at 49,900 yuan and the highest being 209,800 yuan. Compared to Aion, its most expensive model AION LX has a price reaching up to 469,600 yuan. Behind this are the different brand strategies of the two companies. Aion chooses to aim high and directly launches cross-level models to achieve a leap, while LEAPMOTOR chooses to focus on niche markets, build a product matrix, and steadily move forward.

Automotive blogger Sun Shaojun stated that in the first two weeks of September, LEAPMOTOR T03's production capacity was almost sold out, with the order ratio dropping to 15%. The proportion of the three SUV models is close to 80%, and the average transaction price will rise rapidly next month.

Taking the newly released LEAPMOTOR C16 as an example, as a mid-to-large six-seater SUV, the listed price of this model ranges from 155,800 to 185,800 yuan, but it is equipped with many configurations usually found in flagship models.

The LEAPMOTOR C16 features advanced driving assistance systems with Orin-X+ LiDAR hardware, and all models come standard with the high-end Qualcomm SA8295P flagship smart cockpit chip. In terms of entertainment, it introduces a rear ceiling screen and a 21-speaker Dolby panoramic sound system, achieving a leading level of cabin intelligence and luxury experience in the same market segment The product value of "higher configuration, better quality, good but not expensive" was quickly recognized by consumers. LEAPMOTOR C16 was listed on June 28th, started delivery in mid-July, and delivered over 8,000 units in a single month in August. With accelerated production, it is expected to become the sales champion of new energy vehicles within 200,000 yuan soon.

Ability to replicate explosive products

Looking back at the hot sales of LEAPMOTOR C16, it can be said to be "ingenious", without extravagant marketing, but more of a word-of-mouth fermentation brought by the product itself.

In addition to C16, LEAPMOTOR C10 and LEAPMOTOR C11 have also staged the same explosive logic. According to the sales ranking of Autohome, the two models ranked second and third in the new energy vehicle market within 200,000 yuan. As of mid-August 2024, LEAPMOTOR C11 has accumulated sales of over 160,000 units.

If the success of a single car may still involve luck, the success of multiple models is a demonstration of a car company's systematic capabilities from R&D to the market, from products to services. Zhu Jiangming once described LEAPMOTOR as a "tortoise" among new forces in car manufacturing: hoping that the company can steadily advance, progressing little by little each year. Now, nine years have passed, in this long race of car manufacturing, LEAPMOTOR has found its own pace, maintaining steady operation and growth in the face of intense price competition.

The latest financial report shows that in the first half of this year, LEAPMOTOR achieved revenue of 8.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.2%, ranking at the forefront of new forces in terms of growth rate; with a net loss of 2.2 billion yuan, which is less than that of NIO and XPeng, both listed on the Hong Kong stock market; as of June 30, 2024, LEAPMOTOR's net operating cash flow reached 270 million yuan, with ample cash on hand of 16.49 billion yuan, better than competitors such as ZEEKR and NETA, maintaining a healthy asset-liability structure.

However, it is worth mentioning that LEAPMOTOR's gross profit margin in the first half of the year was 1.1%, a significant improvement year-on-year, but still at a relatively low level compared to peers.

In response to this, Zhu Jiangming stated during the performance conference call, "At the current stage, sales volume is more important than gross profit margin, but we cannot sell at a loss, there must be a certain gross profit margin. LEAPMOTOR's strategy is to gradually and systematically increase the gross profit margin, aiming to achieve an average gross profit margin of 5% this year, and ultimately maintain around 15%."

Independent research and development is the key for LEAPMOTOR to reduce costs and increase gross profit margin. It is reported that LEAPMOTOR independently researches and manufactures core components that account for over 60% of the total vehicle cost. For example, in the battery production process, compared to competitors, LEAPMOTOR independently researches and produces all software and hardware components except for the battery cells, while most competitors adopt a "self-research + outsourcing" model.

Guojin Securities analysis believes that LEAPMOTOR has strong profit certainty: in terms of scale effects, the company's new car C16 is expected to have upward monthly sales after listing, and the policy of trading in old for new benefits the sales of the company's main products; in terms of model structure, the flagship C16 is listed, C10/C11 continue to increase in volume, and currently T03 monthly sales have stabilized at over 3,000 units, the proportion will gradually dilute, under the optimization of the model structure, the gross profit is expected to increase, and the annual gross profit margin is expected to reach 6% Promising Prospects for Overseas Expansion

With numerous domestic car models making great strides, Leapmotor is also gearing up for the vast overseas market.

Thanks to the vigorous development of China's new energy vehicle industry, China became the world's largest automobile exporter for the first time in 2023. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to August this year, China exported a total of 3.773 million vehicles, an increase of 28.3% year-on-year.

However, at the same time, trade barriers and "tariff sticks" have emerged successively, first from the European Union and then from the United States, posing challenges to the export business of many car companies. If left unchanged, the high local prices may be difficult to sustain previous sales volumes, and building new production capacity locally entails huge investments and risks that not all car companies can afford.

At this juncture, the advantages of Leapmotor's "reverse joint venture" with Stellantis Group are beginning to show. On May 14th this year, Leapmotor International Joint Venture Company was officially established, becoming the first reverse joint venture company in the Chinese automotive industry, creating a unique development model in the industry: the Chinese market + overseas market + Tier1 suppliers.

In September 2024, Leapmotor International will sell Leapmotor vehicles in nine European countries including France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, and Romania; and plans to expand to a total of 200 sales outlets including the Stellantis & You network by the end of this year; in the fourth quarter, it will enter the markets of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and South America.

A research report from Changjiang Securities points out that Leapmotor's cooperation with the world's fourth-largest automotive group, Stellantis, utilizes its strong global resources such as distribution and after-sales networks, factory capacity, etc., to achieve light-asset overseas expansion, with advantages of low initial investment, faster deployment, and more flexible adjustments. In the future, through exports, SKD, and localized production, product overseas expansion will be carried out, opening up overseas space, and expecting substantial profit contributions from high-margin overseas sales.

With joint efforts at home and abroad, Leapmotor is expected to become the second domestic new energy vehicle company to achieve profitability after Li Auto.

In addition to the optimism from various investment institutions, the founders have also invested substantial amounts of money to purchase stocks, demonstrating their firm confidence in Leapmotor's long-term development prospects. According to reliable sources on August 30th, Zhu Jiangming and the concerted action person Fu Liquan couple increased their holdings by 5.0685 million shares, amounting to approximately HKD 102 million, and continued to increase their holdings on September 9th, accumulating a total of 10.3682 million shares, with a total amount exceeding HKD 200 million, far exceeding the amount of holdings by management of peer companies during the same period.

Whether in car sales or the capital market, Leapmotor's positive signals are continuous, from new car releases to soaring sales volumes, from performance improvements to expected profitability. These achievements are not "overnight success," but rather qualitative changes catalyzed by years of accumulation. In the future, Leapmotor's long-term value will only accelerate its manifestation