Chinese electric car maker Leapmotor (9863.HK) announced late Monday that it turned net profit in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching its single-quarter profit target a year ahead of schedule.

That means Leapmotor has become the second emerging EV carmaker in China to achieve quarterly profitability after Li Auto, which made a net profit of 107.5 million yuan ($16.5 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Leapmotor analyzed three main reasons for the turnaround in net profit: first, the company's continued sales growth in the fourth quarter, with monthly sales averaging more than 40,000 units; second, the optimization of the company's product mix, with sales of its higher-priced C-series models accounting for more than 77% of sales; and third, the company's effective cost control and operational efficiency.

The electric car maker expects its 2024 revenue to be no less than 30.5 billion yuan (~US$4.16 billion), with a growth of no less than 80% compared to 2023, and an annual gross profit margin of no less than 8%.

In an announcement, Leapmotor noted that the improvement in operating income was mainly due to a 104% increase in its sales volume for the full year of 2024 compared to 2023, which drove the increase in operating income.

The company sold 293,724 electric vehicles in 2024, meeting its original full-year sales target of 250,000 units in November.

During the Q3 2024 earnings call, Leapmotor founder, chairman, and CEO Zhu Jiangming said that the full-year sales target for 2025 will be 500,000 units or higher.

In addition to the local Chinese market, Leapmotor has also been actively expanding into overseas markets and accelerating the pace of globalization through cooperation with its major shareholder, Stellantis N.V., since 2024.

In May 2024, Leapmotor set up a joint venture - Leapmotor International - with the Jeep manufacturer, and launched Leapmotor C10 and T03 in September 2024 in Europe.

Leapmotor International now has more than 400 sales outlets in 13 European countries, with plans to expand to 500 by the end of 2025. The joint venture will also accelerate its presence in Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America in 2025.

Last October, the first globalized model of the new Leapmotor B series, the B10, was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. It is also said that the car will be officially launched in the first half of 2025.

Leapmotor's internal judgment is that the new B series is expected to become a new growth point for its sales target of 500,000 units by 2025.