After Netting 210 Million in First Half, Leapmotor Lowers Target, Robot Plans to be Disclosed Soon

On August 24, Leapmotor Motors (9863.HK) released its 2026 semi-annual financial report. The report shows that in the first half of 2026, Leapmotor achieved revenue of 38.11 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 57.2%, setting a record high for the same period; net profit was 210 million yuan, compared to 30 million yuan in the same period last year, marking three consecutive semi-annual periods of profitability.

Image source: Leapmotor

On the same day, Leapmotor announced signing a deepened strategic cooperation agreement with FAW China. According to the agreement, both parties will carry out deep coordination around capital cooperation, new energy vehicles, intelligent assisted driving, powertrain, power batteries, intelligent chassis, body process equipment, lightweight components, embodied AI robots, finance, and other fields, building a new pattern of comprehensive deepened cooperation of "Capital + Industry + Product + Technology + Ecosystem".

During the earnings conference call that evening, Leapmotor Motors management provided responses regarding full-year profit guidance, overseas sales targets, intelligent driving plans, and new business layout.

Revenue hits record high, but full-year profit target lowered to 3 billion yuan

According to disclosure, in the first half of 2026, Leapmotor revenue was 38.11 billion yuan, setting a record high for the same period, mainly driven by increased deliveries of complete vehicles and spare parts. Among them, Q2 revenue was about 21 billion yuan, a quarter-on-quarter growth of about 23%. First-half net profit was 210 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 600%, achieving profitability for three consecutive semi-annual periods.

Image source: Leapmotor

Regarding gross margin, the comprehensive gross margin in the first half was 11.7%, down 2.4 percentage points from 14.1% in the same period of 2025, mainly due to raw material cost increases and product mix changes. Looking by quarter, Q1 gross margin was 9.4%, Q2 recovered to 12.6%, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 3.2 percentage points.

Leapmotor Motors CFO Li Tengfei stated in the conference call: "With scale improvement releasing cost scale effects, and further optimization in material costs and manufacturing expenses, it can drive continuous improvement in gross margin."

In the first half of this year, Leapmotor globally delivered 356,487 units, a year-on-year increase of 60.8%, ranking fourth among global new energy passenger car brands in terminal registration volume from January to May. July single-month delivery was 101,267 units, becoming the first domestic new entrant to break 100,000 units in a single month.

Image source: Leapmotor

On the expense side, R&D expenses in the first half were 2.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%, mainly due to increased R&D investment intensity and more R&D personnel. Sales and distribution expenses were 2.17 billion yuan, administrative expenses were 890 million yuan. As of June 30, Leapmotor's cash and cash equivalents, restricted funds, financial assets at fair value through profit or loss, and bank fixed deposits totaled 38.59 billion yuan, operating cash flow was 2.17 billion yuan.

Regarding full-year profit guidance, Li Tengfei stated in the conference call that achieving the 5 billion yuan net profit target set at the beginning of the year is difficult, mainly affected by rising raw material prices. It is expected that full-year net profit will be around 3 billion yuan, comprehensive gross margin 13% to 14%, and vehicle gross margin 10% to 11%.

2027 is a big product year, robots are already in planning

Regarding the product matrix, Leapmotor has completed the layout of the four major ABCD series, covering the price range of 60,000 to 300,000 yuan. A series A10 reached the 100,000th unit off the line 135 days after launch, ranking first in Chinese brand SUV sales for three consecutive months from May to July; A05 starting price is 63,900 yuan. B series B01/B10 equipped with full-domain 800V and 3C fast charging. C series completed facelift in June, global monthly sales over 30,000 units, C11 cumulative about 350,000 units. D series D19 ranked first in sales of large SUVs under 400,000 yuan for three consecutive months, July delivery 10,043 units; D99 first batch average price over 300,000 yuan.

Regarding 2027 product planning, Li Tengfei stated in the conference call: "In 2027, the number of new models launched by Leapmotor will be greater than in 2026, it is a very significant product year. D series will have new products launched, C series will have both new product launches and existing C series replacement product launches. Replacement products are our next-generation products, both C series and B series will have them." The company is currently prioritizing the optimization of launch rhythms for each model.

Regarding R&D technology, LEAP4.0 Central Domain Controller is equipped on D19, realizing cabin and driving integration synergy based on dual Qualcomm 8797 chips. City Pilot Assist is open for the entire series, pushing nationwide functions to LEAP3.0 architecture in Q3. It is reported that an annual technology conference will be held on September 16, releasing its new architecture assisted driving solutions and latest achievements in the three-electric field. Li Tengfei stated that intelligent driving products under the new architecture have "huge, leapfrog improvements" compared to existing products.

In areas such as L2+, L3, L4 level intelligent driving and hardware, intelligent chassis, etc., Leapmotor has layout in all these areas. Regarding investment return efficiency, he explained that Leapmotor has continuous investment in the intelligent driving field. After confirming the physical model technology route in the second half of 2025, talent and capital investment were increased, overlaying data accumulated from many models, and intelligent driving capabilities have significantly improved this year.

Regarding embodied AI robots, business information shows Leapmotor's subsidiary Zhejiang Lingsheng Power Technology wholly established Huzhou Lingsheng Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in July, registered capital 210 million yuan, business scope covers industrial robot manufacturing and intelligent robot R&D. Li Tengfei stated: "New energy vehicle enterprises, especially new energy vehicle enterprises with full-domain self-research capabilities, are among the most qualified enterprises to do embodied robots. Leapmotor has its own planning. In the near future, everyone will receive our formal announcement regarding specific information on Leapmotor's robots."

Export doubled, localized production implemented in phases

Overseas markets were the core growth engine for the first half of the year. H1 exports 96,294 units, a year-on-year increase of 372.6%, already exceeding 2025's full-year export total, accounting for 27% of total sales; Jan-July cumulative exports 113,863 units. Li Tengfei expects full-year overseas sales to reach 200,000 units, exceeding the target range of 100,000 to 150,000 units set at the beginning of the year.

Image source: Leapmotor

Specifically, Europe is the main market. Leapmotor's market share in Italy's pure electric market exceeds 25%, ranked number one continuously; in June, it became the highest-selling Chinese electric vehicle brand in the German market. As of the end of June, Leapmotor International has established over 1,000 sales and after-sales service outlets in over 45 international markets, over 900 of which are in Europe.

2027 overseas target is 350,000 to 400,000 units. Li Tengfei stated that Europe remains the core market, South America's proportion will further increase, Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacific and Australian markets continue to exert effort.

Regarding channels, next step expansion focuses on Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and South American markets, entered Argentina last month, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, etc. are promoted synchronously.

Regarding shipping capacity, Li Tengfei responded that RoRo ship capacity was generally tight in H1, Leapmotor deep cooperation with major shipping companies and Stellantis. Currently shipping speed has increased compared to March and April, can guarantee the achievement of the full-year 200,000 units target.

Regarding localized production, relying on Stellantis Group factory resources to advance. Spanish Zaragoza factory B10 starts production in Q3, B05 trial production this year, mass production in 2027; Malaysia Gurun factory C10 is already in mass production, B10 starts production in Q3; Brazil Goiania factory B10 plans mass production in H2 2027.

Li Tengfei revealed that in October, Leapmotor will jointly attend the B10 production start ceremony with Stellantis executives at the Spanish factory. Next year locally sold models will mainly be B10, expected production around 50,000 units, can be increased accordingly if tariff policies are adjusted. He pointed out that localization can optimize tariff costs, but local parts procurement costs are higher than domestic, after offsetting both, the improvement in gross margin is limited, net profit improvement mainly reflects in the medium to long term.

Regarding supply chain, Stellantis local resources are an important option, but Leapmotor will not rely completely, will comprehensively evaluate cost and quality to select plans. Regarding the cooperation return with Stellantis, he stated it will be disclosed after landing.

Conclusion: In the first half of 2026, Leapmotor topped new EV entrants with a sales volume of 356,500 units, achieving continuous profitability and doubled exports simultaneously, further establishing its position as fourth among global new energy passenger car brands. The deepened strategic cooperation agreement signed with FAW China on the same day expanded both parties' cooperation from joint vehicle development to multiple dimensions of capital, technology, and industrial ecosystem, laying the foundation for technical synergy and resource integration in the next stage.

But it needs to be noted that raw material cost fluctuations, product structure changes impact on gross margin, and investment-output balance during the ramp-up process of overseas localized production remain variables of continuous attention. Currently, Leapmotor is at the critical point of shifting from scale expansion to balancing scale and quality. Product launch rhythm, intelligent driving solution implementation effects, and overseas localized production progress will become key factors in whether this leap can be completed successfully.