The Lunar New Year holiday has concluded, and LEAPMOTOR's (09863.HK) Jinhua Smart Manufacturing Base in Zhejiang province is bustling with renewed activity. The facility, which primarily manufactures the C16 and C10 models, features a fully self-developed production line covering everything from stamping and painting to the three key electric vehicle components. Housed in a retrofitted former factory, it achieved a production capacity of over 200,000 units in 2025. However, the post-holiday workflow differs significantly from the past: fewer workers are present, replaced by the coordinated operation of intelligent equipment. These systems are activated and function with precision, taking control of the production rhythm.
Behind the busy assembly line, it is evident that smart manufacturing has become a core focus for LEAPMOTOR. On the sales front, the company has moved beyond traditional advertising methods like television, radio, and outdoor billboards. The most direct impact of all these changes is felt in the daily work routines of frontline employees.
Wu Man, an employee in the Planning and Logistics Department at the Jinhua base, has six years of experience in traditional automotive logistics. Surprisingly, this seasoned worker initially found the new intelligent operating mode unfamiliar. "In the past, logistics relied on memory and paper slips. A single trip would only fetch one or two items, leading to inefficiency and a high potential for errors," Wu Man recalled. Now, the intelligent system has transformed the process. PDA handheld terminals automatically generate tasks and plan picking routes. Combined with a "SPS sequencing" parts distribution model, components for an assembly are prepared in order, akin to building with LEGO bricks. "A single wave can now fulfill several orders at once. One trip today accomplishes what used to take multiple trips, ensuring accurate material delivery, higher efficiency, and real-time accounting with zero discrepancies," he explained.
Initially, Wu Man and his colleagues faced challenges adapting to the smart equipment, struggling with following system directives and dealing with occasional technical glitches. However, with guidance from team leaders and through repeated practice and problem analysis, he gradually mastered the new操作方法. The technological empowerment has significantly boosted both the efficiency and accuracy of logistics operations. This shift in work mode has also elevated employees' professional identity. "The job has transformed from pure physical labor to a technical role requiring PDA operation and batch management. We need to understand system data and clearly recognize how our work impacts the entire production line. We are no longer just movers," Wu Man said, expressing a sense of achievement from this enhanced professional value.
In the final assembly workshop, frontline supervisor Wang Xinhua has witnessed LEAPMOTOR's comprehensive transition from traditional to intelligent manufacturing. Data management systems like BI and MES enable automatic collection of production data and precise traceability of product flows. Intelligent tools such as visual error-proofing and barcode scanning prevent assembly mistakes at the source. Strenuous and high-precision tasks are now handled by specialized equipment. The management approach itself has evolved from being "experience-based" to "data-driven." "Previously, management largely involved solving problems based on experience. Now, we must learn to read data, conduct analysis, and quickly identify issues with specific teams using quality metrics. This has greatly improved our response speed and management precision," Wang Xinhua stated. To acquire these new skills, employees maintained an open mindset, actively participating in company training and consulting with engineers. They can now not only supervise production tasks but also contribute to process optimization and waste reduction.
Smart manufacturing has brought dual improvements in product quality and production capacity to the factory. Processes like stamping are fully automated. Standard electric tools have been upgraded to servo-electric guns, used alongside mechanical assist arms, enhancing both operator safety and the precision of work. Optimized barcode error-proofing systems have shifted quality control from post-production interception to in-process confirmation, improving product consistency. Furthermore, the smart production lines allow for flexible co-production of multiple vehicle models, enabling workshops to ramp up capacity rapidly and achieve full production runs characterized by high efficiency, zero errors, and "zero defect" quality.
Both Wang Xinhua and Wu Man mentioned working through the Spring Festival holiday to ensure the production line operated efficiently and stably, laying a solid foundation for the company's development in the new year. As work resumes in the Year of the Horse, the base is steadily progressing towards its goals of "record-high capacity and zero-defect quality."
Moving from the factory to a LEAPMOTOR 4S dealership, the changes are equally apparent in the work of sales employee Li Zukun. His experience reflects LEAPMOTOR's comprehensive innovation in customer acquisition, product development, and after-sales service, mirroring new trends in the new energy vehicle consumer market. "The current methods for attracting customers are worlds apart from the old traditional models reliant on TV, radio, and outdoor ads," Li Zukun said. LEAPMOTOR now focuses more on soft advertising through social media feeds, short videos, and clips from live streams, placing greater emphasis on interacting with the audience. For instance, they carefully select highlights from live streams to showcase playful features, like the card slot in the B-series passenger seat, making product characteristics more直观.
Following the launch of several new models at the end of 2025, LEAPMOTOR organized fleets to visit different cities for offline touring events. These activities allowed potential customers to "unlock" city maps while experiencing the vehicles' real-world range and underlying performance in familiar settings. Additionally, the company uses VLOGs to document a customer's entire commute from home to work, demonstrating the convenience of the B01's assisted driving navigation in congested traffic. This approach reduces consumer aversion to overt advertising while authentically presenting product functionalities.
These adjustments in customer acquisition stem from profound shifts in consumer purchasing priorities and brand perception. Li Zukan noted that today's car buyers are shifting focus from "seeking prestige" to "seeking substance," with practical and rational consumption becoming mainstream. Consumers are less inclined to buy luxury brands solely for status; instead, value for money is a core consideration. Concurrently, as China's automotive industry has advanced, consumer perception of domestic brands' quality and after-sales service has been comprehensively upgraded. The belief that joint-venture or imported brands are inherently superior is fading. Chinese brands' technological accumulation in the new energy sector is steadily increasing consumer recognition and trust.
These changing consumer demands allow LEAPMOTOR's product strengths to shine. The company's commitment to full-scenario in-house research and development enables it to overcome technical bottlenecks, maintain autonomous pricing power, and offer consumers features that exceed their price expectations. Even in the sub-200,000, 150,000, or 100,000 RMB segments, customers can enjoy amenities like massage seats, genuine leather seats, and advanced chassis suspensions.
Beyond product capabilities, optimized after-sales service has become a crucial lever for LEAPMOTOR to enhance its brand reputation. Its service philosophy centers on being "Economical, Quick, Smart, and Convenient," providing comprehensive support for owners. "Economical" refers to saving time, with services like free holiday rescue support. Li Zukun shared an example from the recent holiday: a customer had a flat tire on the way home; the after-sales team called back within five minutes, located the vehicle, arranged a nearby tow truck, provided a free tire replacement, and even had the car cleaned before returning it to the pickup point.
LEAPMOTOR's innovations in both product and service have yielded impressive market results. In 2025, as a publicly listed company, LEAPMOTOR achieved positive net profit, maintained healthy finances, and secured the top sales position among new automakers. This strong performance was a key reason for Li Zukun's decision to join the company. He believes LEAPMOTOR's brand recognition has already surpassed some early entrants in the new energy sector. With its stable development trajectory and market performance, the company offers frontline employees a vast platform for growth.
The new year begins with full momentum. From the smart manufacturing frontline in the factory to the consumer-facing 4S stores, every innovation and upgrade at LEAPMOTOR is closely aligned with industry trends and consumer needs. Frontline employees are not only witnesses and participants in this transformation but also driving forces behind its execution. Their dedicated efforts inject powerful momentum into the company's high-quality development, vividly demonstrating the vigorous upward trajectory of China's indigenous new energy vehicle brands.