Leapmotor stressed that the founding team’s controlling stake remains the bottom line, and any external investment would take the form of a minority stake without altering control.
On November 28, according to reports by Cailian Press citing insiders, China FAW’s investment in Leapmotor has entered its final stages, with both parties potentially signing the agreement before the end of the year. The preliminary stake is expected to be around 5%.
The day prior, Leapmotor chairman Zhu Jiangming publicly denied rumors of a FAW acquisition. He emphasized that discussions on equity-level cooperation with FAW are ongoing and may see phased progress, but no takeover is planned.
Zhu also stressed that the founding team’s controlling stake remains the bottom line, and any external investment would take the form of a minority stake without altering control.
In March 2025, FAW and Leapmotor signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on new-energy passenger vehicle development and component supply, with further capital cooperation under consideration.
Leapmotor has recently taken significant steps on the capital front. In October 2023, Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest automaker, invested €1.5 billion in Leapmotor.
In May 2024, the two parties established a joint venture, Leapmotor International, to support Leapmotor’s overseas export and sales operations.
Amid fierce industry competition and ongoing price wars, Leapmotor’s sales and profitability continue to strengthen. In Q3 2025, Leapmotor reported revenue of RMB 19.45 billion ($2.72 billion), up 97.3% year-on-year, with net profit remaining positive at RMB 150 million ($21.0 million).
Deliveries reached 173,852 units, up 101.8%, including 17,397 units overseas. Gross margin rose sharply to 14.5%, and the company maintains strong cash reserves of RMB 33.92 billion ($4.75 billion) alongside positive operating and free cash flows.
Since March 2025, Leapmotor has led monthly sales among Chinese new-energy vehicle startups for eight consecutive months.
October deliveries exceeded 70,000 units, bringing total deliveries for the first ten months to 465,800 units.
Notably, Leapmotor reached its 2025 sales target of 500,000 units ahead of schedule on November 15 and announced a new 2026 target of one million units.
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