According to Bloomberg Terminal, China’s smart EV maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., Ltd. (Leapmotor or the Company, HKG: 9863) began to offer its shares today, with JPMorgan,CICC, Citigroup and CCB International as joint sponsors. It is expected to list in Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 29.
Leapmotor is a smart EV company based in China that strives to deliver the finest smart mobility experience to all consumers. Harnessing its proprietary technologies and capacity for innovation, the company designs and builds EVs by approaching them as electronics products characterized by smart features and rapid product iterations, amid the ongoing transformation of automobiles from a means of transport into intelligent mobile spaces.
With full-suite of R&D capabilities and vertical integration, core technologies build the cornerstone of development
Technology R&D is not only the foundation of an enterprise, but also the key to maintaining its core competitiveness. In terms of independent R&D capability, Leapmotor is the only pure-play EV company and one of the few NEV companies with such a full-suite of R&D capabilities based in China that develops all key hardware and software across the core systems and electronic components. At present, Leapmotor achieved the designing and producing in-house all of the core systems and electronic components, including its intelligent power system, autonomous driving system. Except for battery cells and internal and external decoration that are outsourced, as well as chassis and automotive electronics that are self-developed and outsourced for production, other parts are self-developed and self-produced, which further highlighted the market competitiveness and influence.
The professional R&D team is an important reason for Leapmotor to continuously expand its technical advantages. As disclosed in the prospectus, as of 30 June 2022, Leapmotor had 1,869 R&D employees, accounting for approximately 32.7% of the total number of employees. In the meanwhile, the achievements in R&D will further enhance the Company’s ability to attract and retain high-quality technical talents, so as to realize a virtuous cycle of development and take a firm stand in the top group of new forces in vehicle manufacturing.
Focusing on industries of high prosperity, the sales soars and opens up broad growth space
In 2021, China’s new energy vehicle (“NEV”) sales volume was 3.3 million units, making it the world’s largest new energy vehicle market. It is expected that by 2026, China’s new energy vehicle sales will reach 10.6 million units, exceeding that of ICE vehicles for the first time, and the compound annual growth rate from 2021 was 26.0%, accounting for 43.9% of the global new energy vehicle market. The penetration rate of NEVs in China’s PV market is expected to surge from 22.4% in 2022 to 50.1% in 2026.
In this context, Leapmotor ushered in a broad space for development, and the sales of smart EVs have achieved rapid growth. As disclosed in the prospectus, in 2020 Leapmotor delivered more than 8,000 smart EVs, a total of 43,748 vehicles in 2021, a 443.5% increase from 2020, making it the fastest-growing among the leading pure-play EV companies based in China in terms of delivery volume. For the six months ended 30 June 2022, the Company delivered a total of approximately 51,994 smart EVs, an increase of 265.3% from that period in 2021. The company delivered 64,038 smart EVs in the first seven months of 2022, representing an increase of 244.8% from that period of 2021.
The increase in sales led to the rise in Leapmotor ‘s revenue. The data shows that from 2019 to 2021, the total revenue of Leapmotor amounted to approximately RMB117.0 million, RMB631.3 million and RMB3,132.1 million respectively. Its total revenue increased by 616.4% year on year to RMB1,992 million for the three months ended 31 March 2022. Its revenue increased by 479.4% year on year to RMB5,081.5 million for the six months ended 30 June 2022. Rising profitability will further consolidate and enhance its leading position, building up a solid, strong competitive barrier.
With the popularity of the smart EV industry, Leapmotor has a full-suite of R&D capabilities and rapid expansion of product portfolio. This Hong Kong IPO is another milestone in its development and is expected to become the fourth new force EV maker to list in Hong Kong after XPeng, Li Auto and NIO. It is believed that more capital injection will raise its safety margin and add strong impetus to its subsequent development.