Leapmotor Prepares New Budget EV A05 With LiDAR Option to Boost Sales
Memo for Next Week
On March 16 (Monday), New Zealand's February Service Sector PSI: previous value 50.9; UK's March Rightmove house asking price index month-on-month: previous value unchanged; UK's March Rightmove house asking price index year-on-year: previous value unchanged; China's first two months of urban fixed asset investment year-on-year: forecasted to decline by 4.2%; China's February urban surveyed unemployment rate: forecasted at 5.1%; China's first two months of industrial added value above designated size year-on-year: forecasted to increase by 5%; China's first two months of total retail sales of consumer goods year-on-year: forecasted to rise by 2.5%; India's February wholesale price index year-on-year: forecasted to rise by 2.05%, previous value rose by 1.81%; India's February
Automakers' Share in China NEV Market in Feb: BYD Leads With 19.1%, Tesla 3rd With 8.2%
Cui Dongshu: This year, the new energy vehicle market is in a recovery phase following adjustments to tax incentives and subsidies, necessitating further policy support.
Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Passenger Car Division of the China Automotive Industry Association, wrote an article stating that after the formal expiration of the domestic new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy at the end of last year, the market for new energy vehicles this year is in a recovery period following adjustments to tax subsidies. Some consumers benefited from the policy incentives last year, leading to a certain pre-purchase effect in January and February this year—a short-term fluctuation that was expected and does not reflect the long-term trend of the market. However, this year is characterized by a later Spring Festival and represents a peak consumption year, with differentiated growth rates in the auto market. The performance of new energy vehicles has been less robust, and more policy support is still needed. He noted that in February this year, the average daily export volume of passenger car manufacturers reached a record high, reflecting the competitiveness of China's
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers: Production and sales of new energy vehicles in February fell by 21.8% and 14.2% year-on-year, respectively.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced that vehicle production and sales in the first two months declined year-on-year due to the叠加influence of multiple factors, including policy transitions, front-loaded demand release, the misalignment of the Spring Festival holiday, weak consumer sentiment, and a high base effect from the same period last year. In February, automobile production and sales reached 16.72 million units and 18.05 million units respectively, marking a month-on-month decrease of 31.7% and 23.1%, and a year-on-year decline of 20.5% and 15.2%, respectively. For the first two months, automobile production and sales totaled 41.22 million units and 41.52 million units, showing respective year-on-year drops of 9.5% and 8.8%. In February, passenger vehicle production and sales were completed at 14 million units and 15.3 million units, respectively.
In February, heavy truck sales reached 73,600 units, marking a year-on-year decrease of 10%, thus ending the consecutive growth trend.
The heavy-duty truck market (including chassis and tractors) sold 73,600 units in February, marking a 30% decline from the previous month and a 10% year-on-year decrease. The year-on-year growth rate turned negative for the first time (the heavy truck market had grown by 46% year-on-year in January), bringing this round of consecutive monthly increases to an end at '10 consecutive months of growth'.
JPMorgan forecasts a rebound in China's automotive industry by the second quarter of this year, with potential passenger vehicle demand growth of approximately 30%.
JPMorgan issued a research report on the mainland automobile industry, predicting that Geely Auto (00175.HK) and Sinotruk (03808.HK) will outperform Bloomberg's market expectations this year despite challenges from rising industry demand and input costs. Additionally, the bank expects Nio (09866.HK) and XPeng Motors (09868.HK) to exhibit the greatest upside potential between the second and third quarters or in the second half of this year, driven by their own internal factors. As for BYD (01211.HK) and Leapmotor (09863.HK), they are expected to gradually rebound after announcing their results in March as the market has already digested these factors.
The MPV market competition has reignited, with multiple automakers playing the intelligent driving card.
Intense market competition.
Over 60% of A/H-share automakers achieved year-on-year growth, with overseas markets serving as the primary support for sales in the first two months.
①In February, automobile exports reached 6.72 million units, representing a year-on-year increase of 52.4%; from January to February, automobile exports totaled 13.52 million units, up 48.4% year-on-year. ②According to statistics compiled by reporters from Cailian Press regarding the sales performance of 14 A/H-share listed automakers during January-February, nine automakers achieved year-on-year growth, accounting for more than 60%.
UBS Group: Oil price volatility makes the total cost of ownership for electric vehicles more attractive; BYD, CATL, and Li Auto offer favorable risk-reward profiles.
Some Chinese-funded automobile and new energy stocks surged today, with Geely (00175.HK) jumping 8.5% to HKD 17.44, and CATL (03750.HK) climbing 7.5% to CNY 591. UBS Group issued a report stating that the current conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran bears striking resemblance to the situation during the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, which caused spikes in oil and lithium prices. Both international oil prices and commodity prices have simultaneously driven up the operating costs of fuel vehicles and the production costs of electric vehicles. Based on the bank's latest spot price estimates, compared to autumn 2025, manufacturing a pure electric vehicle (BEV), extended-range electric vehicle (
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM): In February, new energy vehicle sales reached 765,000 units, representing a year-on-year decrease of 14.2%.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in February this year, production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 694,000 units and 765,000 units respectively, representing year-on-year declines of 21.8% and 14.2%. New energy vehicle sales accounted for 42.4% of total new car sales.
Leapmotor's stock price rose as the company reported steady growth in delivery volumes, with March purchase incentives expected to drive short-term sales upward.
Leapmotor (09863) rose nearly 5% in the morning session. As of the time of writing, it was up 4.54%, trading at HKD 42.86 with a turnover of HKD 206 million.
Express News | The new consumer concept stocks in the Hong Kong stock market generally rose during intraday trading, with Mao Geping up more than 5%, Bruck up nearly 4%, Guoquan up over 3%, and Pop Mart and Guming both rising more than 2%.
Leapmotor (09863.HK): Sales exceeded 60,000 units in January-February; anticipating the launch of subsequent A&D series new models.
Leapmotor delivered 28,067 vehicles in February, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.0% and a month-on-month decrease of 12.5%. Leapmotor's sales exceeded 60,000 units in January and February combined, with expectations for the upcoming launch of new A&D series models.
The Biggest 'Winner' of the Surge in Oil Prices: Electric Vehicles!
①The surge in oil prices may ultimately prove to be a boon for electric vehicle manufacturers…… ②Andrew Garberson, Director of Growth and Research at Recurrent, a company that tracks electric vehicle data, stated, 'Affordability was already a core issue for electric vehicles in 2026, and recent events have only further reinforced this trend.'
Qingdao: This month, a subsidy of 2.5 billion yuan for automobile trade-in programs will be distributed.
The Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce recently announced that it will distribute RMB 2.5 billion (hereinafter the same) in subsidies for car trade-in and replacement purchases in March. It was reported that Qingdao launched the "2026 Qingdao New Year Consumption Season" at the beginning of February. As of last Thursday (March 5), the car trade-in policy had already driven total automobile consumption in the city to reach RMB 15.56 billion.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 435 points. JD.com surged 10%, while JD Logistics skyrocketed 23%.
The Hong Kong stock market performed well, driven by technology stocks. The Hang Seng Index opened 37 points higher and extended its gains, rising by 485 points at one point to reach an intraday high of 25,806 points. It closed up 435 points, or 1.7%, at 25,757 points. The China Enterprises Index rose 176 points, or 2.1%, to close at 8,628 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 151 points, or 3.2%, closing at 4,947 points. Total turnover for the day amounted to HKD 292.766 billion. Following their earnings announcements, JD.com (09618.HK) surged 10% to close at HKD 106.60, while JD Logistics (02618.HK) soared 23% to close at HKD 12.63, becoming the top performer on the blue-chip board.
The majority of automobile stocks in the Hong Kong stock market rose today, with institutions stating that intelligence and lightweight trends are expected to become the two major 'growth drivers' in the automotive industry.
Hong Kong-listed automobile stocks generally rose today. As of the time of writing, Geely Auto increased by over 6%, Leapmotor rose more than 5%, XPeng Motors-W gained nearly 4%, Great Wall Motor climbed over 3%, while Li Auto and Nio both advanced nearly 2%.
Express News | Most new consumer concept stocks in the Hong Kong stock market rebounded, with Guming rising over 4%, Shangmei Shares up more than 3%, Mao Geping gaining nearly 3%, Brucan and Miniso both rising over 1%, and Laopu Gold and Pop Mart increasing nearly 1%.
Western Automakers Outsourced Supply Chains for Decades — Now Chinese Rivals Have the Cost Edge