- March deliveries jump 78% from prior month as budget smart-EV gains traction
- Exports hit record highs, helping the startup lead China’s EV upstarts in first quarter
Leapmotor, a Hangzhou-based EV manufacturer, reported a year-on-year increase of 35% in deliveries in March, reclaiming momentum in China’s crowded electric-vehicle (EV) market as a newly launched mass-market smart SUV quickly translated early demand into sales growth.
The Chinese EV startup delivered 50,029 vehicles in March, up 78.25% from February, according to data released April 1, pushing monthly sales back above the 50,000 mark after a slower start to the year.
First-quarter deliveries exceeded 110,000 units, ranking the company first among China’s new-energy vehicle startups.
The turnaround was driven largely by the launch of the A10, a 100,000-yuan ($14,530)-class all-electric SUV unveiled on March 26.
Positioned as an affordable, small-sized vehicle, the model comes equipped with lidar and an “end-to-end” assisted parking system — features typically reserved for higher-priced cars, Leapmotor said.
Early market response was strong. Leapmotor said pre-orders surpassed 10,000 units within days of launch, while orders exceeded 9,000 during the final weekend of March alone.
Overseas expansion added another growth driver. The company exported more than 40,000 vehicles in the first quarter, a record for Leapmotor and the highest among China’s EV startups.
