Leapmotor Is Already Inside the Tariff Wall — European Automakers Should Be Alarmed

Leapmotor posted its first-ever annual profit in 2025, doubled its revenue, and is now assembling cars in Poland under a Stellantis joint venture that effectively grants it made-in-Europe status. The EU's tariff regime was supposed to slow Chinese EVs down. Instead, it may have accelerated the most sophisticated market-entry strategy the continent has ever seen.

What happened in China In 2025, Leapmotor crossed a threshold that most Western analysts assumed was still years away: profitability. The Hangzhou-based EV maker posted a net profit of CN¥538m (~US$78m) — its first annual profit since it began selling cars in 2019 — swinging from a net loss of CN¥2.82bn (~US$395m) in 2024. Revenue doubled to CN¥64.7bn (~US$9.1bn) on the back of almost 600,000 vehicles delivered. According to newmobility.news, deliveries reached 596,555 units in 2025, up 103 percent year-on-year. Gross margins hit a record high of 14.5%. The momentum has not slowed. In March 2026 alone, Leapmotor recorded 50,029 vehicles delivered — including both domestic and export sales — representing a 34.87% year-on-year increase, according to Stellantis. The company is now targeting one million vehicle sales in 2026, which would imply growth of roughly 68% on last year's volumes. None of this is happening in isolation. Leapmotor confirmed…

Leapmotor Is Already Inside the Tariff Wall — European Automakers Should Be Alarmed

Subscribe to read the full article