Leapmotor in August 2026: first new-force brand to 100,000 monthly sales — what UK buyers of the B10 and B05 need to know

Leapmotor delivered 101,267 vehicles in July 2026 — a 102 per cent year-on-year increase and the first time any new-force Chinese EV brand has surpassed 100,000 monthly deliveries. To put that in context: the established players who crossed this threshold before Leapmotor (BYD, SAIC, Geely) all had decades of industrial infrastructure behind them. Leapmotor, founded in 2015 and listed only in Hong Kong in 2022, got there with 18 factories, a Stellantis partnership and 88 per cent platform commonality across its model range. Cumulative deliveries now stand at 850,000 — at the current pace, the brand will pass one million before the end of 2026.

For UK buyers, this headline figure carries a practical message: Leapmotor is not a marginal player hedging its export bets. A brand delivering over 100,000 vehicles a month in its home market can fund warranty claims, hold parts stock and sustain UK dealer support far more credibly than one selling a few thousand domestically. The Stellantis joint venture adds a further layer — European production capacity and an established after-sales network that Chinese-only brands lack.

Leapmotor's A10 SUV — launched in China on 26 March 2026 — delivered its 100,000th unit in 135 days, the fastest milestone in Leapmotor's history and the quickest in the entire sub-¥100,000 pure-EV SUV segment in China. That price bracket is roughly sub-£11,000 at current exchange rates — well below the cheapest T03 sold in the UK.

What makes the A10 commercially significant is its hardware specification. It is the first car in that sub-¥100,000 category to include LiDAR as standard, alongside Qualcomm's SA8155 for the cockpit and SA8650 for ADAS processing. In China, LiDAR has until now been reserved for premium models costing two or three times as much. Seeing it fitted to a budget segment vehicle tells you how rapidly costs are falling and where Leapmotor is choosing to differentiate.

The relevance for UK buyers is indirect but material: it signals where Leapmotor's engineering budget is going. The same platform family that produces the UK's B10 and B05 is generating enough volume and gross margin to fund LiDAR integration on a budget car. That matters for how you assess the brand's technical trajectory over the life of a purchase.

Two data points from August 2026 are more meaningful than a sales number alone. First, Leapmotor's gross margin reached 15 per cent — notable for a brand that was margin-negative as recently as 2023. A profitable Leapmotor is a Leapmotor that can fund parts supply, dealer training and warranty pay-outs in the UK for years ahead without depending on capital injections or the Stellantis relationship to cover losses.

Second, CATL chairman Robin Zeng personally took delivery of a Leapmotor D99 flagship — delivered by Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming. CATL is the world's largest EV battery maker, and its chairman's choice of personal vehicle is closely observed as an industry signal in China. The D99 runs on a Leapmotor-designed platform with CATL cells. That a supplier of CATL's stature visibly endorses the brand at executive level is not a marketing stunt — it is a supply chain vote of confidence that will be read as such by Chinese industry observers and institutional investors alike.

For UK buyers, the combined picture — 15 per cent margins, CATL endorsement, Stellantis backing — represents a materially more robust brand position than two years ago.

The milestone numbers translate into a practical message for UK buyers: Leapmotor is no longer a brand you need to worry about surviving long enough to honour its warranty. The combination of 100,000-plus monthly deliveries, a 15 per cent gross margin and a CATL chairman buying its flagship is as clear a brand-health signal as you are likely to see in the Chinese EV sector.

The honest gap to keep in mind is architecture. The B10 (£29,995) and C10 BEV (£36,500) sold in the UK run Leapmotor's 400V electrical architecture. China-market models launched in 2026 have moved to 800V, unlocking 210 kW peak charging. The B10 charges at up to 168 kW — competitive by UK standards, but a step behind what the same brand is building at home. LiDAR, City NOA and the full ADAS stack now appearing on the A10 are absent from UK models, with no confirmed timeline for UK introduction.

On the near horizon: the B03 hatchback is confirmed for UK arrival in early 2027, with right-hand drive built in from the outset. New Zealand testing data gives a usable WLTP proxy: 390 km (about 242 miles) on the 53 kWh pack, 30–80 per cent in 16 minutes. At a likely UK entry price below £20,000, it would be the most affordable Leapmotor in the UK by some margin. If you are considering a B10 or B05 now, the A10 story does not change the case — but it confirms the brand is investing fast in the technology that will eventually reach export markets.