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On the day of the 2026 Leapmotor Technology Day, Leapmotor unveiled a "One Architecture + Three Core Technologies + Multiple Reserves" in one go, which can be said to be full of substantial value. After the press conference, Leapmotor founder, Chairman, and CEO Zhu Jiangming led the whole vehicle product line head Cao Li, electronic product line head Zhou Hongtao, battery product line head Song Yining, and electric drive product line head Wu Cun to face the media directly. During the over one-hour group interview, almost all questions eventually landed on the same word: self-developed.
"Leapmotor is very willing to do technology, very ambitious." At the beginning of the group interview scene, the host quoted a netizen's comment. She said "Technology is our Leapmotor's confidence, and our current 9,500 engineers are also our confidence." This is almost the best footnote of the whole group interview.
"End-to-End Integration": The Foundation of R&D is Organizational Power
Facing the question of "how to manage the R&D system", Zhu Jiangming's answer was only four words: End-to-End Integration.
"Everyone is a piece, very clear, boundaries are also clear." For example, Cao Li is responsible for the whole vehicle, responsible for the entire process from product planning, initiation, development to delivery; cockpit and electrical architecture, then from design, iteration, manufacturing to delivery, pulled all the way to the line-side position of the whole vehicle factory.
Zhu Jiangming added that this stability also comes from people's stability. The four product line heads in the seat all joined Leapmotor in 2015, "Our team is very stable, no one has changed at all". Leapmotor has a total of 10,000 employees, of which 8,500 are R&D, sales, HR, finance, public relations only account for 1,500. In the 50-person team when the company was established, there were 41 engineers, and 21 remain in Leapmotor to this day.
World Model Intelligent Driving: Don't Throw Money at People, 100 km in the City by Year End Without Manual Takeover
LWM World Model Intelligent Driving is considered one of the biggest surprises of this release, but Leapmotor gave a counter-intuitive answer to "how to do intelligent driving".
"I don't really agree with the saying that intelligent driving needs to throw money and pile people to do it." Zhou Hongtao said straight, in the industry, competitors who previously invested thousands of people are now reducing significantly, often this thing is not something that can be done by just throwing money and people.
Zhu Jiangming then stated the goal more directly: "Our goal is to say Leapmotor will achieve 100 km in the city without manual takeover at the end of the year." In his view, Chinese auto companies' intelligent driving is getting closer to not needing manual takeover for a week, even half a month, finally gradually approaching L4.
What was even more unexpected to the on-site media was the benefits for old users. About 10,000+ old cars equipped with the Orin X platform (earliest including 2024 C16, C10, C11), will be upgraded to the latest World Model Intelligent Driving for free. Since Leapmotor's current main platform is Qualcomm 8650, this means "equivalent to we have to re-develop a whole batch, this is indeed a huge investment".
But Zhu Jiangming's attitude was firm: "Users are our bread and butter... Users in the early stage actually suffered a lot, bought Leapmotor's product, and if it turns out not to be good to use after buying, then we also have to think from the perspective of users." He said, "We are willing to spend as much effort as possible, to take our ten thousand plus users, to upgrade them to our latest version of this World Model Intelligent Driving."
High and Low Voltage Fusion CTC: One Innovation, Solving All Redundancy and Cost Issues
Battery product line head Song Yining brought two key pieces of information.
First, self-developed cell production line has been put into production: LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) system, winding process, capacity meets 500,000 to 600,000 vehicles; because standardized cells are made and deep participation in R&D customization, "will not be limited to a certain model, will be fully equipped", compared to external procurement has about 10% cost reduction.
The other half of cost reduction comes from standardization. Song Yining calculated an industry account: Cell factory customer demands are complex, "Even if achieving top cell factory, every line on average needs to cut 5 to 7 times a year", the most capable cuts one line also delays 20 days capacity, five times down two or three months are gone. After Leapmotor standardizes, it can guarantee 365 days no line stop, so efficiency lowest, cost can also be lowest, quality can also be best.
Second is High and Low Voltage Fusion CTC battery. Leapmotor cancelled the independent 12-volt lead-acid battery, integrated it into the large battery pack. Facing media concerns about collision safety, Song Yining emphasized safety redundancy did not change: "Still high voltage and low voltage two independent power supply... Door handle and other working principles are exactly the same."
Why do this thing? Pain points are realistic: Lead-acid battery loses electricity in one or two years, smart cars consume electricity large, switch to lithium battery mount in front compartment, sun exposure environment hurts life, after collision also easy to trigger whole vehicle unsafe. So Leapmotor gives low-voltage power supply directly to power cells. "Long standby time, no electricity loss, save user cost, put in chassis middle safer, can achieve same life as power battery".
MMi Multi-mode Hybrid: Turn Hybrid's "Powerless" into "Powerful"
Why when range extension is already done well, still release multi-mode hybrid? Wu Cun's answer is: Prepare for global customers.
"Foreign new energy charging facilities are relatively much behind China, we believe foreign hybrid market still has 5 to 10 years or even longer time." More importantly demand difference, foreign users have high requirements for medium-high speed acceleration, same level cars 80 km/h to 120 km/h acceleration ability generally is 8 seconds, "We can do 4.5 seconds", European users especially like.
Since 2022 when the first range-extended model went into mass production, Leapmotor has cumulatively launched 7 range-extended models. Leapmotor's release of MM-i multi-mode hybrid electric drive marks Leapmotor's formal entry into the plug-in hybrid track, completing a full power layout of "Pure Electric + Range Extension + Plug-in Hybrid" here.
"iPhone of the Auto World": Second Brand is a New Species of Mobile Space
About the underlying logic of the second brand, Zhu Jiangming believes that with energy replacement completion, autonomous driving becoming increasingly usable, the car's form will definitely be reconstructed, Leapmotor hopes the second brand, like the iPhone replacing feature phones, "to make revolutionary changes".
Cao Li then described the new species more specifically: Future cars "not only a transportation tool, it might be more a home, or moving residence also, office scene also", can replace hotel, camping, temporary rest, coffee shop, restaurant partial functions, "based on car autonomous driving arrival after, it as a can move life extension space". Second brand expected next year fourth quarter appearance and begin delivery.
R&D Overflow: External Supply, Going Overseas, and Competition
R&D results are overflowing outward. Zhu Jiangming introduced, Leapmotor with FAW, Stellantis is very close cooperation, mode is platform-level cooperation: one is production of already mass-produced cooperative components in Leapmotor factory, another is in partner's own factory production, but by Leapmotor providing self-developed manufacturing core components, "from battery pack, electric drive, our all controllers, car lights etc., just pack style".
He calculated an account: Complete set electric vehicle kit compared to partner choosing many suppliers, at least have 1,000 yuan, 2,000 yuan cost advantage, and matching grind time short, risk smaller. Self-developed components putting into market premise is also harsh: "Our PPM, our 3mis must be better than our suppliers, we will put into market."
Going overseas also emphasizes synergy. Zhu Jiangming believes automotive going overseas "must walk this localization path", more effective synergy is "use their existing some resources, for example factory surplus capacity"; in Thailand etc Southeast Asia market, already have many Chinese auto companies build factory, "hope Leapmotor not to go build factory, able to coordinate with them, able to use their factory, that is best. Reduce duplicate investment". Overseas product release rhythm will be slower than domestic about two quarters.
Finally, a media asked a very direct question: Why Leapmotor choose a "invest more, simultaneously more tired, explanation cost higher" road?
Zhu Jiangming believes, this answer hides in Leapmotor's ten years. From company establishment first day, Leapmotor set down "full domain self-research, deep self-making" mode, this is a road completely opposite to "integrated procurement", this road harder, slower, less popular, but also therefore harder to be copied. We also see results, in industry down 20% year, Leapmotor still can maintain 70% volume growth.
Looking back, 2026 Leapmotor Technology Day every set of numbers also answer this question. Leapmotor has already walked this road others look hardest into its own "Moat" (By Feng Ming, Decisive Move)
