Leapmotor founder and CEO Zhu Jiangming speaks as the company's one-millionth car rolls out the production line on Sept 25. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Leapmotor, one of China's fast-rising NEV makers, has rolled out its one-millionth car, becoming the country's second startup to reach the milestone and underscoring the rapid scale-up reshaping the industry.

The Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-based company said it produced its millionth vehicle on Thursday, just 343 days after hitting the 500,000 mark—a record pace among China's NEV brands.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Zhu Jiangming hailed the achievement as evidence of "accelerating momentum", noting that Leapmotor took five years to reach 500,000 units but less than a year to double that figure.

The surge reflects both strong domestic demand and a maturing cost structure.

Leapmotor delivered more than 320,000 vehicles in the first eight months of 2025, topping Chinese NEV startups' sales rankings for six consecutive months.

The company also turned a net profit for the first half of the year and reported record gross margins, signaling that its long-touted strategy of in-house development and "technology for all" is paying off.

Founded in 2015, Leapmotor designs and builds core components—including batteries, electric drives and central computing architectures—in-house, which it says accounts for about 65 percent of vehicle costs.

International expansion is emerging as a second growth engine. Backed by shareholder Stellantis, Leapmotor is leveraging the European carmaker's distribution and service network to penetrate more than 30 overseas markets.

The brand now operates nearly 700 sales and service outlets abroad, including over 640 in Europe, and has delivered more than 30,000 vehicles overseas this year.

In August, Leapmotor overtook BYD to lead Germany's pure-electric market, highlighting its growing global competitiveness.

Zhu said the company aims to maintain its production momentum and could mark its next millionth vehicle as soon as next year, reinforcing its position as one of China's fastest-scaling NEV players.