On August 20, according to reports from multiple media outlets including Caixun, China FAW is planning to acquire a stake in Leapmotor to become a strategic shareholder of the latter. It is reported that insiders revealed that FAW plans to initially make a tender offer for about 10% of Leapmotor’s shares, and the plan is currently being circulated and promoted among relevant departments within FAW.
In response to the above reports, Leapmotor stated that it “has no comment”; China FAW said that “this is false information.”
In fact, China FAW and Leapmotor have had interactions before. On March 3 this year, to strengthen technical integration, gather advantageous resources, and jointly enhance product competitiveness, China FAW and Leapmotor held a signing ceremony for the “Strategic Cooperation Memorandum” in Changchun. At that time, Qiu Xiandong, Chairman and Party Secretary of China FAW, and Zhu Jiangming, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Leapmotor, both attended the signing ceremony. According to the content of the agreement, the strategic cooperation between the two parties will be carried out in two dimensions: first, the two parties will give full play to their respective technical accumulations in the R&D field, jointly carry out joint development of new energy passenger vehicles and parts cooperation, and jointly enhance product competitiveness through their technical integration; second, further explore the feasibility of deepening capital cooperation to achieve full industrial chain resource synergy.
Regarding the signing of the “Strategic Cooperation Memorandum”, both parties believe that the signing of this strategic cooperation memorandum is a new start for the strategic cooperation between China FAW and Leapmotor, and will also lay a good foundation for the strategic cooperation between the two parties. Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition in the automotive industry, integrating resources for joint cooperation has become an inevitable path for more and more automakers to achieve efficient use of resources. The cooperation between China FAW and Leapmotor is good news for both parties. For Leapmotor, cooperating with FAW can provide it with financial support, and at the same time, open up cooperation with traditional automakers, enabling its technical capabilities to achieve large-scale spillover output. For China FAW, Leapmotor’s new energy, intelligent technology and extreme cost control capabilities can help it further promote the development of new energy and intelligence.
As we all know, China FAW is a state-owned extra-large automobile enterprise group. Its predecessor was the First Automobile Works, which was one of the key construction projects of the country’s “First Five-Year Plan”. At present, China FAW owns independent brands such as Hongqi, Besturn, and Jiefang, as well as joint venture brands such as FAW-Volkswagen and FAW-Toyota. Among them, the Hongqi brand shoulders the fundamental task of China FAW’s upward development and is also the top priority of China FAW’s development in the new energy vehicle market. As a state-owned extra-large automobile enterprise group, like most traditional automakers, China FAW also faces the problem of weak sales of new energy models of joint venture brands. At this stage, China FAW is “All in New Energy”, but its performance in the new energy vehicle field is not outstanding.
As for Leapmotor, it was established in December 2015 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2022. Currently, Leapmotor’s models on sale include Leapmotor C11, Leapmotor T03, Leapmotor C16, Leapmotor C10, Leapmotor C01, Leapmotor B10, etc. In terms of establishment time, although Leapmotor has been established for 10 years, its real development has been in recent years, especially since the second half of last year. Leapmotor has occupied the mainstream market with the route of “cost-effectiveness” and “technology for all”, achieving rapid sales growth and entering the stage of large-scale profitability.
On August 18, Leapmotor’s financial report showed that in the first half of 2025, Leapmotor’s operating income was 24.250 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 174.1%; the net profit attributable to equity holders was 30 million yuan, compared with a net loss of 2.21 billion yuan in the same period, making it the second new power enterprise to achieve profitability. Of course, the of Leapmotor’s net profit is inseparable from the growth of its sales volume. Especially since the second half of 2024, Leapmotor’s sales volume has started to climb, which is undoubtedly a success for Leapmotor. Data shows that in the first half of 2025, Leapmotor delivered a total of 221,700 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 155.68%, ranking first in sales among Chinese new power brands for five consecutive months, becoming the top-selling new power automaker. According to the plan, Leapmotor’s annual sales target for this year is 500,000 to 600,000 vehicles, and it strives to achieve the annual profit target this year.
In the financial report, Leapmotor also stated that at present, the first co-developed vehicle project between Leapmotor and China FAW has been launched, and follow-up work is being actively promoted. Both parties will further explore the feasibility of deepening capital cooperation to achieve full industrial chain resource synergy.
