Leapmotor is preparing for a much bigger transformation than simply adding another electric SUV to its lineup. At its 2026 Technology Day in China, the fast-growing automaker unveiled LEAP 5.0, a next-generation vehicle architecture built around dramatically rethinking cabin space, electronics, batteries and software. Just as importantly, founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming confirmed that an entirely new second brand is scheduled to appear and begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The strategy arrives as Leapmotor moves beyond its reputation for aggressively priced electric vehicles. Record deliveries, expanding international operations and a deepening relationship with Stellantis have given the company more room to experiment. LEAP 5.0 is intended to provide the technical foundation for that next phase, including the first products from the still-unnamed second brand.
LEAP 5.0 Starts With a Different Idea of What a Car Should Be
Leapmotor describes LEAP 5.0 as a “New Mobile Space Architecture,” and the terminology offers a clue to what the company is trying to achieve. Rather than designing an electric car around many of the packaging conventions inherited from combustion vehicles, engineers have rearranged major components to free more room for passengers. An integrated climate-control unit and rear-mounted powertrain are central to that approach. Leapmotor says those changes increase longitudinal cabin space by 19% compared with its existing architecture, while reducing the number of components by 18% and the amount of associated piping by 30%.
The company is also changing how the suspension and floor are packaged. A more vertical shock-absorber arrangement and compact aluminum towers are claimed to increase available front-row lateral legroom by 37.5%. A lower, flatter floor combined with a taller roof structure is intended to create substantially more vertical room. Leapmotor puts that increase at 63.7%, though these figures remain manufacturer measurements rather than independent test results. The broader objective is clear: use the flexibility of an EV platform to make the passenger compartment a larger share of the vehicle’s physical footprint instead of simply replacing an engine with batteries and motors.
The Electronic Architecture Is Becoming Just as Important as the Chassis
Underneath LEAP 5.0 sits a new electronic system called Clover 5.0, reflecting how modern vehicle development increasingly depends on computing architecture as much as mechanical hardware. Leapmotor is moving toward centralized control rather than relying on a large collection of relatively independent electronic modules scattered around the vehicle. The system uses a vehicle-wide 48-volt electrical network, Ethernet communications and what the company calls AgentOS, which is designed to connect onboard computing with cloud-based services. Leapmotor says the redesign can reduce the total wiring harness to roughly 500 metres.
That matters for more than saving copper or a few kilograms. Modern EVs must move enormous amounts of information between cameras, sensors, infotainment systems, power electronics, battery controls and driver-assistance hardware. A more centralized network can make software updates and integration easier while reducing the complexity created by dozens of separate controllers. Leapmotor is effectively treating the vehicle as a connected computing platform rather than a collection of isolated systems. The approach is increasingly common across the industry, but the combination of 48-volt distribution, Ethernet networking and centralized computing shows how aggressively Leapmotor wants to simplify the underlying electrical architecture of its next generation of vehicles.
CTC 3.0 Could Make the Familiar 12-Volt Battery Disappear
One of the more practical innovations announced alongside LEAP 5.0 is Leapmotor’s third-generation cell-to-chassis battery system, known as CTC 3.0 High-Low Fusion. Most modern vehicles, including EVs, still use a separate low-voltage battery to operate lights, locks, computers and other electrical equipment. Leapmotor’s new system is designed to move those functions into the main traction-battery architecture instead. The company says its latest design provides seven times the low-voltage capacity and functionality of the previous generation, removing the need for a separate conventional 12-volt battery.
CTC 3.0 also continues Leapmotor’s effort to eliminate traditional battery modules by integrating cells and supporting structures more directly into the chassis. High- and low-voltage functions can share cells, thermal management and energy distribution rather than operating as entirely separate systems. For an owner, the most visible consequence could simply be one fewer battery that eventually requires replacement. For engineers, however, the implications are broader: fewer individual components, potentially lower weight and another opportunity to consolidate vehicle systems. Leapmotor has also said it intends to make patents associated with the high-low-voltage integration technology available to the wider industry, an unusual move in a sector where battery packaging remains a major competitive battleground.
Leapmotor Is Taking Its World-Model Driving Technology Downmarket
Software was another major part of the Technology Day presentation. Leapmotor introduced LWM, short for Leapmotor World Model, as its next generation of advanced driver-assistance technology. The company says the system moves away from relying primarily on traditional bird’s-eye-view perception and large collections of programmed driving rules. Instead, it is intended to develop an understanding of how a driving scene is likely to evolve, allowing the vehicle to anticipate changing conditions. LiDAR remains part of the system on equipped models, but Leapmotor describes it primarily as an additional safety layer rather than the central perception technology.
Perhaps more significant than the architecture is Leapmotor’s planned rollout. The company says advanced functionality based on LWM will extend into vehicles costing below 100,000 yuan, an unusually low price bracket for sophisticated driver-assistance hardware. Leapmotor also said approximately 350,000 vehicles equipped with LiDAR and suitable computing hardware had been delivered by the end of August 2026. Those customers are promised an upgrade to the world-model system without an additional charge, with lifetime use included. The technology’s real-world performance will ultimately require independent evaluation, but the pricing strategy illustrates Leapmotor’s long-running philosophy of pushing expensive technology into mainstream vehicles quickly.
A New Hybrid System Expands Leapmotor Beyond EVs and Range Extenders
Leapmotor is simultaneously broadening its powertrain strategy. The new MM-i intelligent multi-mode system gives the company the ability to build conventional plug-in hybrids in addition to its existing battery-electric and range-extended vehicles. Unlike a simple range extender, where the combustion engine mainly generates electricity, MM-i can operate in both series and parallel configurations. That means the engine, generator and electric motors can be combined in different ways depending on driving conditions. Leapmotor says the system supports nine operating modes and can be adapted across a wide range of vehicle sizes.
The company has disclosed a peak system output of 206 kW and a complete electric-drive unit weighing about 106 kilograms. Leapmotor has made additional claims regarding efficiency and weight advantages over competing systems, but those comparative figures have not yet been independently verified. The strategic significance is less ambiguous. Plug-in hybrids have become an important tool for Chinese automakers seeking customers who want substantial electric driving capability without relying entirely on public charging. Reports ahead of Technology Day indicated that Leapmotor could begin offering PHEVs in overseas markets during the first half of 2027. MM-i gives it a single technical foundation that can potentially serve both domestic and international buyers with very different charging conditions.
The Second Brand Is Now Officially Tied to the Fourth Quarter of 2027
The biggest product announcement was not a specific vehicle. Zhu Jiangming confirmed that Leapmotor’s second brand is expected to debut and begin deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2027, with its first vehicle becoming the earliest production application of LEAP 5.0. The name, body style and final pricing have not yet been disclosed. Zhu has framed the vehicle as an attempt to rethink the role of an automobile, comparing the intended change in experience with the transition from traditional mobile phones to smartphones. That is an ambitious comparison, particularly in a Chinese market already filled with highly digital vehicles.
Earlier reports provide some clues about the business strategy, although these details should still be treated separately from the latest official confirmation. Chinese automotive reporting has said the second marque is being developed for vehicles priced above roughly 300,000 yuan, or about US$44,000 at recent exchange rates, and could operate through a dedicated sales network rather than Leapmotor’s existing stores. That would place it well above much of Leapmotor’s historical market. The company’s existing success was built largely around delivering unusually high levels of equipment at mainstream prices. A separate nameplate would allow it to chase better margins without abandoning that positioning.
Record Sales Give Leapmotor More Room to Move Upmarket
The second-brand push is easier to understand against Leapmotor’s rapid increase in scale. The company delivered 596,555 vehicles worldwide in 2025, more than double its 2024 volume. Momentum accelerated again in 2026. August deliveries reached a record 103,129 vehicles, up about 80.7% from the same month a year earlier and marking the second consecutive month above 100,000 units. Through the first eight months of 2026, Leapmotor had delivered 560,883 vehicles globally. Management has been pursuing an annual target of around one million units, meaning substantial additional volume is still required during the final months of the year.
Growth has also changed the financial picture. Leapmotor reported first-half 2026 revenue of 38.11 billion yuan, an increase of 57.2% from a year earlier, while vehicle deliveries rose 60.8% to 356,487 units. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 210 million yuan, keeping the company profitable on a half-year basis, although its 11.7% gross margin remained under pressure from raw-material costs and product mix. That tension helps explain the second brand. Selling more cars is important, but expanding into higher-value segments could eventually matter just as much for improving the economics of each vehicle sold.
Stellantis Gives the Next Chapter an International Dimension
Leapmotor’s ambitions no longer stop at China’s borders. Stellantis acquired an approximately 21% stake in the company in 2023 and subsequently created Leapmotor International, a joint venture owned 51% by Stellantis and 49% by Leapmotor. The venture holds exclusive rights to sell and manufacture Leapmotor products outside Greater China. By May 2026, the partners said their European network had grown beyond 850 sales and service locations, while more than 40,000 Leapmotor vehicles had been shipped to Europe during 2025. Operations have also expanded into South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Mexico.
The two companies are now discussing deeper industrial cooperation, including additional manufacturing in Spain. Stellantis has said future Leapmotor products could be allocated to its Villaverde plant in Madrid, while joint purchasing is intended to combine the cost advantages of China’s EV supply chain with European manufacturing capabilities. None of that guarantees Leapmotor’s second brand will become a major international player, and the company has not announced where the new marque will initially be sold. What it does provide is infrastructure few young Chinese automakers possess. LEAP 5.0 therefore represents more than another domestic platform launch: it is arriving just as Leapmotor gains the scale, technology portfolio and international industrial network to test how far its model can travel.
