Stellantis is fueling Leapmotor's rise outside China — but the competition is getting tougher

Leapmotor COO Xu Jun says Chinese EV brands share one reputation overseas — and the domestic discount habit could damage all of them.

Leapmotor has urged Chinese carmakers to behave more cautiously in foreign markets. Speaking at the China Automotive Forum in Chongqing, senior vice president and chief operating officer Xu Jun said today's export wave is different from previous ones: every Chinese car now effectively carries a label that reads «Chinese new energy». The key, he argued, is to prevent the domestic price war from spilling overseas.

For Chinese brands this is a sensitive issue. At home, the market has grown used to constant discounts, rapid model turnover and aggressive competition. Abroad, that same playbook can damage not just an individual brand but the perception of every Chinese EV and hybrid. Xu Jun also noted that the auto industry is moving from an era of fast, outsized profits into a normal period of low margins.

In the past, he said, the working logic was «bolder and faster»: accelerate sharply and grab market share. In the new phase, speed alone is not enough — companies will have to adapt their strategy flexibly and watch their numbers more carefully. For Leapmotor, international expansion has become especially important after the deal with Stellantis.

In October 2023 the group bought roughly 21% of Leapmotor and became the company's largest single shareholder. At the same time the two sides set up the Leapmotor International joint venture: Stellantis took 51%, Leapmotor 49%. This structure is responsible for selling and producing Leapmotor cars outside Greater China. Over the past 18 months the project has expanded significantly.

After launching the T03 and C10 in 2024, Leapmotor International built up more than 850 sales and service points in Europe. In 2025, deliveries to the European market exceeded 40,000 units. The company then moved into South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa, and in April 2026 it officially entered the Mexican market. For Leapmotor this is not just geographic growth but a test of whether a Chinese brand can really operate through a major partner's international network.

The main risk now is that exports could repeat the Chinese script: many players, fast discounts, weak margins and a fight for volume at any cost. Leapmotor is essentially warning that abroad, Chinese brands compete with each other, but they share a single reputation.