Produced by Zhineng Technology

In July 2026, the Leapmotor A10 dethroned the Model Y to become the best-selling SUV, with 26,424 units sold.

But that's just the beginning. Leapmotor has set its sights on transforming its sales ratio from 40% domestic and 60% overseas to 60% overseas and 40% domestic, meaning overseas sales should constitute 60% of its total sales.

And they plan to accomplish this feat with just one small car priced at around 60,000 yuan.

'First, we aim for a 46 split, then 55, and ultimately flip it to 64,' stated Zhu Jiangming, CEO of Leapmotor, at a post-launch communication session for the A05 on the evening of August 11, sharing his insights on overseas expansion.

On Dongchedi's SUV retail chart for July, the Leapmotor A10 outsold the Model Y, which had long held the title of 'sales champion,' with 26,424 units compared to the Model Y's 25,158 units.

New energy vehicle brands are not content with just the domestic market, and Leapmotor is no exception.

The proportion of overseas sales is projected to increase from 10% to 20%, and eventually towards ratios of 46, 55, and 64. If the annual sales target of 4 million units is met, overseas sales would reach 2.4 million units, while domestic sales would be 1.6 million units.

With the introduction of a small car starting at 63,900 yuan, the company's leader sits down to discuss global market ambitions.

What is Leapmotor's strategy?

Leapmotor's plan is that the A10 has already proven the strategy for small cars, and the A05 will apply the same approach to the sedan market. Ultimately, they aim to reach the future target of 4 million units through overseas sales.

01 A10: How Did It Secure the 'Triple Crown'?

● The Successful Debut of the A Platform

The Leapmotor A10 was launched at the end of March this year, and the 100,000th mass-produced vehicle rolled off the line on August 7, taking only 135 days from launch to reach this milestone. However, speed alone is not enough; quality is paramount.

On Dongchedi's SUV retail chart for July 2026, the A10 claimed the top spot with 26,424 units sold, pushing the Model Y (25,158 units) to second place. This marked a rare occasion where the Model Y lost its top position in the domestic SUV market.

Additionally, the A10 achieved the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 73.3 in its class in a J.D. Power survey and ranked first in SUV quality in the second quarter on Chezhi.com.

Sales, quality, and reputation—these three first-place finishes are what Leapmotor refers to as the 'triple crown.'

The A10's success is not solely based on price; it's about product strength. It offers features such as LiDAR, the 8295 cockpit chip, and a 505km range—configurations typically found in cars priced over 100,000 yuan—in a small SUV starting at just 65,800 yuan.

Leapmotor describes this as 'using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,' or leveraging systemic capabilities to create a competitive edge. It's shifting the competition from price and space to intelligence and quality.

● The A05: Applying the Same Strategy

The A05 is a sedan launched on August 11, priced between 63,900 and 90,900 yuan, available in five trim levels. It's a premium small car built to 'very high standards.'

Leapmotor's in-house developments include a seven-in-one oil-cooled electric drive, CTC 2.0 Plus battery-chassis integration, LMC chassis motion fusion control, and torque closed-loop steering, all either self-developed or with high self-production rates.

While LiDAR and two flagship chips, the 8650 and 8295, are purchased, Leapmotor's strength lies in cost reduction and integration, enabling a 60,000-yuan-class small car to utilize 200,000-yuan-class hardware.

The A05 shares the same platform philosophy and configuration approach as the A10, transplanting the A10's proven 'overachieving' logic from SUVs to sedans. It's not a new product developed from scratch.

The Leapmotor A10 targets family SUVs, while the A05 caters to the sedan needs of young women and mothers. The dual-A combination saturates the market below 100,000 yuan. This approach allows for R&D and supply chain reuse, further reducing costs.

02 Boosting Overseas Sales, with a Foothold in Spain

Clearly, Leapmotor aims to achieve annual sales of 4 million units by increasing overseas sales—this is the path to globalization.

How will they achieve such high overseas sales?

The answer lies in Spain. Leapmotor's factory in Spain is making progress with CKD (Completely Knocked Down) assembly, planning to start mass production in the fourth quarter of this year. The body and major components will be manufactured locally, while core powertrain components will be exported from China.

The rationale behind this move is to utilize Stellantis' distribution channels to sell cars, employ local CKD assembly to avoid complete vehicle tariffs, and replicate China's proven cost system in Europe.

When BYD first ventured overseas, many were skeptical.

Today, '60% overseas sales' is still a vision for Leapmotor, far from being reflected in delivery schedules for the next year or two. Whether the cost-reduction system built on self-research and self-production can work overseas with different labor and supply chains remains uncertain.

Systemic overseas expansion is a challenging endeavor, and Spain's CKD is an experiment.

Summary

Leapmotor's journey over the past few years has been built on its self-developed capabilities, with hit models like the A10 being outward manifestations of this strength.

The A10's 'triple crown' and the A05's launch are both products of this capability. Now, as Leapmotor 'reaps the rewards of its development,' the challenge of increasing overseas sales to 60% looms large—a hurdle far more difficult than achieving monthly sales of over 100,000 units.

'Slow is fast'—a mantra Leapmotor has repeated for a long time, and it remains true.