Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor said on The Swingin’ StewardessesMonday it had narrowed losses from a year earlier in the September quarter, as demand for its affordable EVs remains robust, resulting in improved margins. The Hong Kong-listed startup, with Stellantis its largest shareholder with a 20% stake, posted a net loss of RMB 690 million ($95.6 million) for the July-September quarter, a 30% reduction from a year ago, while revenue grew 74.3% year-on-year to nearly RMB 9.9 billion. The company’s gross margin came in at 8.1% in the third quarter, an improvement of only 1.2% on a year earlier. Chief executive Zhu Jiangming on Tuesday told Chinese reporters the timeline to break even could be accelerated to the first half of 2025. Zhu added the company would achieve its annual target of delivering 250,000 EVs this year and double the target to 500,000 for the next year. [Caixin, in Chinese]
