Leapmotor's Zhu: Carmaking Needs 20B Yuan Minimum — The Cost Code Behind a Decade of Comeback
Leapmotor founder and Chairman Zhu Jiangming recently admitted in an interview that building cars requires at least 20 billion yuan, adding "I wouldn't have started if I had known how capital-intensive it would be." The veteran who left security giant Dahua Technology in 2015 to venture into vehicle manufacturing has taken Leapmotor from a marginal brand selling fewer than 100 units per month to a top-tier new force automaker targeting 1 million annual sales. As of June 18, 2026, Leapmotor's cumulative global deliveries surpassed 1.5 million units, with the third 500,000 achieved in just 8 months. Zhu revealed Leapmotor adheres to full-stack in-house R&D, self-developing and self-manufacturing 65% of core components, with 70% of large components sourced within a 20km radius in Jinhua, Zhejiang. The company has raised its 2026 sales target to 1 million units and plans to launch a new independent premium sub-brand positioned above RMB 300,000.
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